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Quick Facts
- NAME: Phil Hartman
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter
- BIRTH DATE: September 24, 1948
- DEATH DATE: May 28, 1998
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Brantford, Canada
- PLACE OF DEATH: Encino, California
- Full Name: Philip Edward Hartmann
Best Known For
Canadian-born American actor Phil Hartman is best known for his performances on Saturday Night Live.
Videos see all videos
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The Tragic Side of Comedy - Full Episode (BIoChannel Special) (81:24)
The Tragic Side of Comedy: Phil Hartman
Known for his quiet and self-controlled comedy, Phil Hartman's successful career hid a tumultuous personal life.
The Tragic Side of Comedy - Full Episode
Those who makes us laugh the hardest sometimes seem to have the most troubled souls. Friends, colleagues, psychiatrists, and authors look and the lives and work of John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, and others.
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Play NowPhillip Edward Hartman. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:38, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325.
Phillip Edward Hartman. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Phillip Edward Hartman." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 10:38 http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325.
"Phillip Edward Hartman," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Phillip Edward Hartman," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Phillip Edward Hartman [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325.
Phillip Edward Hartman, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Phillip Edward Hartman. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-hartman-10526325. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Canadian-born American actor Phil Hartman is best known for his comedic roles on the late-night sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, for which he won an Emmy. He also helped Paul Reubens create the character Pee-wee Herman, and co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Hartman was murdered by his third wife, Brynn Omdahl, in 1998.
Quotes
I benefit from the Mr. Potato Head syndrome. Put a wig and a nose and glasses on me, and I disappear.
Profile
Actor, comedian. Born Philip Edward Hartman on September 24, 1948 in Ontario, Canada. Best known for his deadpan antics and celebrity impersonations on Saturday Night Live, Hartman got his start working with comedian Paul Reubens to develop the hit movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure and its subsequent TV series. Hartman signed on with SNL as a writer and actor in 1986 and stayed on as a regular with the show until 1994, winning a shared Emmy along the way.
After leaving SNL, Hartman joined the ensemble cast of the sitcom Newsradio as a pompous, self-important anchorman. In addition to the television series, he appeared in such feature films as 1987's Blind Date and 1996's Jingle All the Way.
Off-screen, Hartman reportedly had marital difficulties with his wife, Brynn, who had struggled for years with drug and alcohol abuse. On May 28, 1998, tragedy struck when Brynn shot Hartman to death while he was sleeping in their Encino, California, home. She shot herself shortly after, leaving behind a son and a daughter, Sean and Birgen.
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Included In These Groups
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Cast of Saturday Night Live
View groupLearn more about the cast of Saturday Night Live, including old-timers such as John Belushi, Billy Crystal, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy and David Spade, as well as newer stars of the series, including Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig.
Cast of Saturday Night Live 43 people in this group
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Screen Presidents
View groupSee our group of screen presidents, which includes actors who have played real-life American presidents as well as faux chief executives. Biography.com's Screen President group includes Frank Langella, Morgan Freeman, Josh Brolin, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day-Lewis and many more.
Screen Presidents 30 people in this group
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Loved to Death
View groupWhen one lover attacks another in a moment of unbridled emotion—or tries to eliminate their romantic competition—it's traditionally been known as 'a crime of passion.' These days, fits of rage over lost love are often chalked up to 'temporary insanity.' Whatever you call them, crimes committed in the name of love have been part of our cultural history since ancient times. Here are some of the most famous examples of passion-gone-wrong, from those who couldn't bear to part with their true love to those who found themselves on the receiving end of an obsessive romance.
Loved to Death 18 people in this group
