Originally posted on May 8, 2020 @ 11:50 am
On May 28, 1998, the Hollywood industry was shaken after the news of comedian Phil Hartman had so suddenly died. Phil Hartman, who is known for his work on Saturday Night Live and had made a great impression on the audience.
Hartman himself never expected that his love of life, Brynn would kill him. This is the worst nightmare for Hollywood. No one expected the couple ended this way. After the couple’s date, they left their two kids behind.
Here we uncover everything about Phil Hartman’s wife, Brynn Hartman, including their children, in her bio. Let’s take a closer look below.
Who is Phil Hartman’s wife, Brynn Hartman?
Brynn Hartman was a Canadian actress and made her name by herself, playing in the movies and televisions. Brynn was widely known as the wife of the late comedian Phil Hartman.
But Brynn became famous after she got involved in a relationship with a Canadian actor Phil Hartman whom she met blindly. Brynn and Phil were one of the lovely and happy couples in the entertainment industry.
Brynn Hartman Was Born in a Small Minnesota Town
Real name; Vicki Jo Omdahl was a small-town girl. She was born Vicki Jo Omdahl on April 11, 1958, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Brynn is the daughter of an engineer and retail shop owner, Donald Gene Omdahl and Constance Faye Omdahl. According to her memorial, Find a Grave, Brynn was one of four children and raised in her Northern Minnesota home.
The late actress had three siblings; a brother named Gregory Clark Omdahl and two sisters, Katherine Kelly Omdahl Wright and Debbie Omdahl Borreson. As a kid, Brynn was known as the fun-loving and also a bit troublemaker. Greg Omdahl told ABC, the actress was always the instigator of fun.
Brynn Hartman Met Phil Hartman On Blind Date
The two met on a blind in 1986, and he thought that he was his dream girl. At the time, Brynn was a Catalina swimsuit model. Brynn was strikingly beautiful, and she had bolstered Hartman’s deflated self-image. Eventually, the two fell in love, and soon after, the couple got married in November 1987.
Before Hartman, Brynn was married to first husband Torfin, but it lasted for two years. Brynn was the third wife of Phil Hartman. Previously, Phil Hartman was married to Lisa Jarvis.
The duo lived in a Manhattan apartment and known as one of the happiest couples in Hollywood. As time passes, their relationship became more and more contentious. Phil’s career took off into the next level, while Brynn Hartman’s insecurities increased day by day. She was a failed actress and struggling with drug substances.
Brynn’s Erratic Behavior
Brynn felt intimidated by her husband’s success and frustration. Her husband tried to get a role for Brynn, but she got involved more reliant on narcotics and alcohol. As a result, she entered in rehab center several times.
During the occasions, Phil Hartman sent their children to stay with family or friends because of Brynn’s drug and alcohol-fueled outbursts. She became more and more possessive over her husband.
During the show on SNL, Mrs. Hartman even joked that Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman were married on some other level because of their close relationship. Even Brynn had written a threatening letter to Hooks and warned her not to get close to her husband.
Additionally, Brynn wrote a venomous four-page letter to Phil’s second wife, Lisa Strain, and said if she contacted her again, she ripped her eyes out. In 1994, Phil Hartman left the show Saturday Night Live to take care of his wife and children.
Brynn and Phil Hartman Had Two Children
Mr. and Mrs. Hartman had two children, a daughter named Birgen and a son, Sean. After the horrific death, their children were raised by Brynn’s sister. Katharine Wright and her husband Mike Wright, in Eau Claire. Sean was born in 1989, and Birgen was in 1992. The Wrights raised them with different last names so they could live an ordinary life.
When their parents’ died, Sean was nine, and his sister was six years old. Both Birgen and Sean live a low profile life out of the limelight, but they have kept their father’s memory alive. Sean Hartman is pursuing his career in the music industry, and also, he is an artist. Reportedly, he lives in Oakland, California.
Brynn’s daughter, Birgen, is happily married today. Birgen graduated from the University of St. Thomas and received a degree in Journalism and Communication at the Minnesota University. Birgen walked down the aisle with her husband, Brandon, in 2018 in Italy.
Birgen even shared some of her wedding pictures of her Instagram. On October 1, 2019, she posted a wedding photo of her and captioned it, “Happy First Anniversary.”
Further, the beautiful lady did make her appearance at the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary celebration in 2015. Birgen paid tribute to her late father and spent time with those people who knew Phil. In 2017, Birgen commemorated on her parents’ death anniversary in an Instagram post.
Moreover, she shared a few pictures of her late father on her social media. Back in 2016, she posted a photo of her late father with a caption, stating, the another father’s day had come to an end. She reminds herself that no matter what and fortunate with a number of significant father figures in her life. She called her dad a dapper dude.
Phil Hartman Was a Great Comedian
Philip Edward Hartman, aka Phil Hartman, was a Canadian-American comedian and actor, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live and had turned him into a household name. In 57, he moved to the United States alongside his family.
Phil started off his career as a graphic designer and later switched to acting. He joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1986 and stayed on the show until 1994. During the time, Phil nicknamed, “The Glue” for his uncanny ability to completely shuck off his real personality and transformed himself into whatever character he played.
He portrayed megalomaniacal Bill McNeal on the NBC sitcom, NewsRadio. Additionally, he appeared on 52 episodes of The Simpsons, voicing the roles of both Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure throughout the ’90s.
In 2014, the late actor honored a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Phil’s brother John accepted the honor on his behalf.
How did we lose Phil Hartman and his Wife?
It’s been over two decades, Phil and Brynn left the world. Phil was shot dead by his wife, Brynn Hartman, while he was sleeping in their room in the night. The couple had a tumultuous relationship. It is said that their marriage fuelled by Brynn’s short temper and her problems with alcohol and drugs.
Before the tragic incident, Brynn and her husband had a heated argument, Phil went to the bedroom, leaving her to cool down alone. Hartman shot her husband twice in the head and once in the side around 3 am on May 28.
Then she drove to her friend Ron Douglas’s house and confessed to him that she killed her husband. But Ron didn’t believe her until he saw the dead body of Hartman in the bed. He called the police in the morning. When the police arrived, they escorted Douglas and their two children from the house. Brynn locked herself in the room and shot herself.
Brynn Hartman’s brother Greg breaks his silence twenty years later, her dead. On the night of their deaths, Brynn had drunk, consumed a high amount of cocaine, and with the antidepressant Zoloft in her system.
Greg Omdahl sued Pfizer, which made the antidepressant and claimed that it cast her out of her right mind. Her brother spoke about the couple’s deaths for the first time on ABC’s special, The Last Days Phil Hartman.
What was the Net Worth of Brynn Hartman?
Brynn is a former model and aspiring actress. She moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles to become an actress, but her work never took off. However, she did a job on a few projects. She had a small role as a waitress in the Elijah Wood film North and a Venusian on 3rd Rock from the Sun.
In addition to her career, she was a model and photoshoot for a few magazines as well. However, we don’t know what was the net worth of Brynn Hartman at the time of her death. On the other hand, her husband, Phil Hartman’s net worth was $1.23 million. That’s the same as around $3 million today. Furthermore, the two left their mansion to their children.
Brynn Hartman Was Not Active on Social Media
In the late 1990s, people contact through phone and email. At the time, there are no advanced technologies like today. So, it is safe to say that she doesn’t have social accounts, but you can check out her daughter, Birgen Hartman, on Instagram.