8 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star Phil Hartman
You probably already known a bit about Saturday Night Live alum Phil Hartman, who was one of the show’s comedic superstars from 1986-94 — including the tragic way he died. But Hartman had quite the life, even if it was cut short when he was murdered in his sleep in 1998 at the age of 49; Hartman had already had multiple careers, had a hand in some unexpected ’80s film classics and may have even designed the logo for one of your favorite bands.
1He was friends with a future Manson girl
Everett Collection
Hartman was born in Canada in 1948 and moved to the United States with his family when he was 10; they moved around a bit before settling in southern California. While he was a student at Los Angeles’ Westchester High School, Hartman had a brush with infamy — he was a classmate of Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a future key member of Charles Manson’s cult, who would go on to serve time for her attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.
In 2009, excerpts from Fromme’s jail house letters became public — which included mentions of Hartman.”I have somewhere my junior high school yearbooks with Phil [Hartman]’s writings and a little cartoon surfer he drew,” Fromme wrote in letters reprinted by CBS. “I think he was funnier in high school than on TV, although some of what I saw on SNL of him was excellent … we took drama together for 2 years and we had fun. He was more supportive than competitive and so enthusiastic that it was fun to go to class with him and anyone like him.”
2He designed rock album covers
Hartman’s path to comedy was far from direct. When he graduated from California State University with a degree in graphic arts in the 1970s, he opened his own graphic design firm, where he specialized in creating album covers for bands. Hartman’s work can be seen on albums and merch for bands including Crosby, Stills & Nash, Poco and America.
3His first TV appearance was on The Dating Game
Hartman’s first TV appearance had nothing to do with his comedy career. In 1979, he appeared as as a contestant on an episode of The Dating Game. He won!
4He got his start with Pee-Wee Herman
In 1975, Hartman was looking for a creative outlet beyond graphic design, and joined the Los Angeles-based improv group the Groundlings. Here, he helped Paul Reubens develop his soon-to-be-famous character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman also cowrote the 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and made a cameo role as a reporter; at the time, he had been considering quitting Hollywood, but this film got him back on track. He also had recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Pee-wee’s Playhouse — his first regular TV role, and a role he’d also played in the original Pee-Wee Herman stage show.
5His nickname on SNL was “Glue”
Alan Singer/NBC/courtesy Everett Collection
Hartman was nicknamed “Glue” for his ability to hold the show together and help other SNL cast members. Series creator Lorne Micheals said of him: “He kind of held the show together. He gave to everybody and demanded very little. He was very low-maintenance.” Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1989.
6Jay Leno wanted him to be his sidekick
Leno, who took over hosting duties on The Tonight Show in 1992, wanted Hartman to be his sidekick; funnily enough, one of Hartman’s most famous SNL impressions was of original Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon. Hartman passed on the offer in order to stay on SNL.
7Hartman voiced several characters on The Simpsons
Although he was originally brought in for a one-time role, Hartman enjoyed it so much that the staff wrote additional parts for him. He voiced the recurring characters Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure, as well as other minor characters, from 1991-1998. Simpsons creator Matt Groening said that Hartman’s voice acting could produce “the maximum amount of humor” with any line he was given. Hartman was passionate about the work; he said “It’s the one thing that I do in my life that’s almost an avocation. I do it for the pure love of it.”
8He was friends with podcaster Joe Rogan
The two became friends while working together on NewsRadio. According to Rogan, he encouraged Hartman to divorce his wife, former model and aspiring actress Brynn Omdahl, many times during their friendship, but Hartman didn’t want to leave their two children.
Hartman and Omdahl had a tumultuous marriage. She was reportedly intimidated by his success and frustrated by her own lack thereof. Hartman considered retiring to save the marriage. He also tried to get Brynn acting roles, but she had issues with drug and alcohol abuse, ending up in rehab on multiple occasions.
Eventually, after a heated argument one night, Omdahl shot Hartman in his sleep, and then shot herself. On the day of Hartman’s death, Simpsons rehearsals were cancelled; his characters Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz were permanently retired after his death.
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Classic Comedy Duos
March 2021
Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.
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