Phil Hartman
Philip Edward Hartman (né Hartmann; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse.
In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a cast member, and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in supporting roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers.
After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. However, their marriage was troubled due to his busy work schedule and her drug and alcohol abuse. In 1998, while Hartman was sleeping in his bed, Omdahl shot and killed him, and later killed herself. In the weeks following his murder, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". He was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014.
Photos
Movies (59)
An SNL Thanksgiving
2024 · (archive footage)
The Last Days of Phil Hartman
2019 · Self (archive footage)
The Women of SNL
2010 · Various (archive footage)
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
2007 · Self
Comedy Club Shoot-out: Vol. 1
2006 · Self
Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found
2005 · Self
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
2003 · Bill Clinton (voice)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley
2003 · Various (archive footage) (uncredited)
101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
2003 · Self (archive footage)
The Continental: Anticipation
2001 · The Continental Announcer (voice)
Saturday Night Live: Christmas
1999 · Various (archive footage)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dana Carvey
1999
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
1999 · (archive footage)
The Simpsons: Too Hot For TV
1999
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night
1998 · Chauncey (voice)
Small Soldiers
1998 · Phil Fimple, In Memory Of
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman
1998 · Self / Various Characters, Writer
Saturday Night Live: A Tribute to Chris Farley
1998 · Self
The Second Civil War
1997 · The President
Jingle All the Way
1996 · Ted Maltin
Sgt. Bilko
1996 · Major Thorn
The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show
1995 · Various
Stuart Saves His Family
1995 · Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Going, Going, Almost Gone! Animals in Danger
1995
Houseguest
1995 · Gary Young
The Crazysitter
1994 · The Salesman
The Pagemaster
1994 · Tom Morgan (voice)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition
1994 · Self - Host
Greedy
1994 · Frank
The Twelve Days of Christmas
1993 · Hollyberry
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993 · Ranger John "Vicky" Johnson
Coneheads
1993 · Marlax
Daybreak
1993 · Man in Abstinence Commercial
CB4
1993 · Virgil Robinson
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
1993 · Comic Cop
One Special Victory
1991 · Mike Rutten
Quick Change
1990 · Hal Edison
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
1989 · Self
How I Got Into College
1989 · Bennedict, SAT Coach
Fletch Lives
1989 · Bly Manager
Amazon Women on the Moon
1987 · Baseball Announcer (segment "Murray in Videoland")
The Brave Little Toaster
1987 · Air Conditioner / Hanging Lamp (voice)
Spaceballs
1987 · Dink (voice) (uncredited)
Blind Date
1987 · Ted Davis
¡Three Amigos!
1986 · Sam
Jumpin' Jack Flash
1986 · Fred
Ruthless People
1986 · Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
Last Resort
1986 · Jean-Michel
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
1985 · Reporter, Writer
Cheeseball Presents
1984 · Various Characters
Weekend Pass
1984 · Joe Chicago
The Facts
1982
Pandemonium
1982 · Reporter
The Border
1982 · Charlie Smith (voice) (uncredited)
The Pee-wee Herman Show
1981 · Kap'n Karl, Writer
Skateboard Madness
1980 · Narrator (voice)
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
1980 · Chick Hazard Private Eye (Groundling)
The Gong Show Movie
1980 · Man at Airport with Gun
Stunt Rock
1978 · Monique's Assistant
TV shows (34)
Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales
2015 · Self (archive footage)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996 · Self
3rd Rock from the Sun
1996 · Phillip, Randy
Night Stand with Dick Dietrick
1995
NewsRadio
1995 · Bill McNeal
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995 · Game Show Host (voice)
The Critic
1994 · Adolph Hitmaker / Bernie Wasserman / Professor Blowhard (voice)
Animaniacs
1993 · Dan Anchorman (voice)
The John Larroquette Show
1993 · Otto Friedling
Eek! The Cat
1992 · Psycho Bunny (voice)
The Larry Sanders Show
1992 · Phil Hartman
Fish Police
1992 · Inspector C. Bass (voice)
Darkwing Duck
1991 · Paddywhack (voice)
The Ren & Stimpy Show
1991 · Sid (voice), Russian Newsreel Narrator / Pig (voice)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
1990
Tiny Toon Adventures
1990 · Octavius (voice)
TaleSpin
1990 · Ace London (voice)
Tom & Jerry Kids Show
1990 · Calaboose Cal (voice)
Bobby's World
1990
Gravedale High
1990 · Billy Headstone (voice)
Los Simpson
1989 · Troy McClure (voice), Lionel Hutz (voice), Troy McClure / Joey / Godfather / Lionel Hutz (voice), Tom / Nelson's Dad / Football Commentator / Announcer (voice), Lyle Lanley (voice), Troy McClure / Jimmy Apollo (voice), Stockbroker / Horst (voice), Lionel Hutz / Troy McClure (voice), Troy McClure / Lionel Hutz (voice), Charlton Heston (voice), Evan Conover (voice), Troy McClure / Fat Tony (voice), Lionel Hutz / Hospital Chairman (voice), Troy McClure / Additional Voices (voice)
Seinfeld
1989 · Man on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
DuckTales
1987 · Captain Frye (voice)
Pee-wee's Playhouse
1986 · Captain Carl
Dennis the Menace
1985 · George Wilson
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
1985 · Vaccu-Spook Auctioneer (voice)
Our Time
1985
Challenge of the GoBots
1984
Late Night with David Letterman
1982 · Self - Guest
Magnum, P.I.
1980 · News Reader (voice)
The Six O'Clock Follies
1980
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Various Characters, Self - Host, Self / Various (archive footage), Pilgrim (uncredited), Eych Announcer (voice) (uncredited), The Continental Announcer (voice) (uncredited), Announcer (voice) (uncredited), Writer
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Jetsons
1962 · School Patrol Robots / Executive Vice President (voice)