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Revision as of 06:10, 20 November 2007 by Closedmouth (talk | contribs) (clean up using AWB)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Brynn Hartman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Vicki Jo Omdahl |
| Years active | 1994 - 1998 |
| Spouse | Phil Hartman (1987–1998) |
| Children | Sean Edward Hartman (b.1989) Birgen Anika Hartman (b.1992) |
Brynn Hartman (born Vicki Jo Omdahl) (April 11, 1958 – May 28, 1998) was the wife and murderer of actor and comedian Phil Hartman.
Early life
Vicki Jo Omdahl was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, to Donald Gene Omdahl and Constance Faye Omdahl (née Arnold), and had a brother named Gregory Clark Omdahl and two sisters named Katherine Kelly Omdahl Wright and Debbie Omdahl Borreson. On November 25, 1987, she married Phil Hartman. They had two children: Sean Edward Hartman (born 1987) and Birgen Hartman (born 1992). Both children are currently being raised by her sister Katherine and her husband Michael Wright in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Minor acting career
Hartman acted in small roles on television and film, playing a waitress in the Elijah Wood film North and a Venusian on 3rd Rock from the Sun. She met her husband while working as a Catalina swimsuit model. She can also be seen during the early 1990s opening credit sequence of Saturday Night Live, having dinner with Hartman (her back to the camera).
Murder of Phil Hartman and suicide
On May 28, 1998, she killed her husband in his sleep, shooting him three times with a revolver. Around 2am or 3am, she drove to her friend Ron Douglas' house, and confessed, but he did not believe her. At 6:20am, the two of them drove back to the Hartman home where Douglas discovered the body. Douglas subsequently called the police, who arrived on the scene to escort the two children out of the house. Before the police attended to her, Hartman went back into the bedroom and killed herself with a second revolver, shooting herself in the right eye.
Phil Hartman's divorce attorney, Steven Small, stated in a CNN article that Brynn's anger management problems may have contributed to the murder/suicide. In a 1998 People Online article, Small also stated that the couple argued over her alcoholism, her addiction to cocaine and the impending divorce. Each was unhappy and accused the other of not allowing a divorce. According to an article on the website FranksReelReviews.com, she combined cocaine, alcohol, and Zoloft at the Hollywood restaurant Buca di Beppo the night of the murder/suicide.
Phil Hartman's friend and colleague Jon Lovitz claims that Brynn Hartman had been sober for 10 years until five months before the murder, when comedian Andy Dick reintroduced her to cocaine, which apparently spiraled downward into the eventual murder/suicide.
External links
- Brynn Hartman at IMDb
- A CNN account of the death
- A CNN article about the reasons behind her actions
- Findadeath account of her death
- Photo