Phil Hartman Murder House

Author: Jewls Krueger

Phil Hartman was one of the most recognizable comic actors of the 1990s, a former Saturday Night Live star whose impressions and voice work reached tens of millions of viewers each week. On May 28, 1998, he was shot and killed in the bedroom of his Encino home by his third wife, Brynn Omdahl, who then locked herself inside and died by suicide as police arrived. The killing stunned the entertainment world and remains one of the most widely remembered celebrity murder-suicides in Los Angeles history.

Phil Hartman

Philip Edward Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, on September 24, 1948, and moved to the United States with his family as a child. He studied graphic arts and designed album covers for bands including Poco and America before joining the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop the Pee-wee Herman character. Hartman joined Saturday Night Live in 1986 and stayed for eight seasons, earning the nickname "Glue" for his ability to hold sketches and fellow cast members together. He won an Emmy for his SNL writing in 1989, later starred as Bill McNeal on the sitcom NewsRadio, and voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons. He was 49 at the time of his death.

Brynn Omdahl

Brynn Omdahl was born Vicki Jo Omdahl in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, on April 11, 1957. A former model and aspiring actress, she married Hartman in 1987 after meeting him on a blind date, and the couple had two children. Friends and biographers have described a marriage strained by Hartman's demanding schedule and by Brynn's long struggle with drugs and alcohol, which sent her to rehab several times. She was reportedly intimidated by his success and frustrated that her own acting career never matched it. Hartman's former SNL colleague Jon Lovitz later accused NewsRadio co-star Andy Dick of reintroducing Brynn to cocaine and triggering a relapse, an allegation Dick denied, saying he knew nothing of her condition.

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Interested in Phil Hartman? Mike Thomas' full biography dives into Phil Hartman's life, tracing his unlikely journey from a troubled Canadian upbringing to SNL legend, right up to the shocking night his wife ended it all.

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The Murder

On the evening of May 27, 1998, Brynn had dinner and drinks at a Buca di Beppo in Encino with producer and writer Christine Zander, who later said Brynn seemed to be in a good frame of mind. After Brynn returned home, she and Hartman had a heated argument, and he went to bed. In the early morning hours of May 28, she entered the bedroom and shot him three times with a .38-caliber revolver as he slept. A coroner's examination later found she had been drinking, had recently used cocaine, and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft.

The Aftermath

Sometime before 3:00 a.m., Brynn drove to the home of her friend Ron Douglas and confessed to the killing, but he did not believe her until she showed him the gun, which he took from her. They returned to the Encino house in separate cars, and during the drive Brynn placed a call to another friend and confessed again. Douglas entered the home, found Hartman's body, and called 911 at around 6:20 a.m. As officers arrived and got Douglas and the couple's two young children to safety, Brynn locked herself in the bedroom and fatally shot herself with a second .38-caliber revolver. Both weapons were registered to the Hartmans.

Police attributed the deaths to domestic discord. Brynn's brother later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, and against the psychiatrist who had supplied her samples of the drug; Pfizer settled without admitting wrongdoing. The couple's two children were raised by Brynn's sister and her husband. Both Hartman and Brynn were cremated, and their ashes were scattered off Santa Catalina Island.

The House Today

The former Hartman residence still stands in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley. The property is screened by shrubbery and a wrought-iron gate, though the generous spacing between the bars leaves the house partly visible from the street. Real estate listings indicate the home remains privately owned and occupied. This is a private residence and someone's home, so please view it only from public streets and sidewalks. Do not enter the property, disturb the gate, or contact the current residents or neighbors.