Brynn Hartman

Philip Edward Hartman (born September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian–American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. 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, Hartman 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's show Pee-wee's Playhouse. In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), where he won fame for his impressions and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, he starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio after declining his return to SNL. He also voiced various characters on The Simpsons, and had minor roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. Hartman was divorced twice before he married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. Their marriage was troubled by Brynn's drug use and Phil's constant absence from home. In 1998, while Hartman was sleeping, his wife shot and killed him, and later committed suicide. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined 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". Hartman was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

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