begin with a murder investigation that has stunned the entertainment world tv's favorite funny men is dead phil hartford hartman was shot to death in his own home found shot to death today inside his home in southern california apparently killed by his wife who then committed suicide many people in the industry are still in shock tonight we are live in rockefeller center i'm kathy hobbs [Music] comedy legend and saturday night live star philip edward hartman started life in ontario canada born on september 24 1948 he came from a big family and began using comedy as a
way of getting attention his family moved to the united states when he was 10 years old and when phil started school he quickly became popular amongst his peers always joking and making people laugh it was clear although he didn't know it that performing was in his future he went to california state university and majored in graphic design as well as undertaking a public speaking course he loved the outdoor life and spent lots of time fishing and surfing he was incredibly creative and went on to design several album covers for well-known bands in the 1960s he
spent time on the road with many bands and artists he was immersed in the rock and roll lifestyle and this further fueled his creative spark at the beginning of 1970 he met and married his first wife gretchen lewis however the marriage quickly dissipated and they divorced just two years later despite spending many years behind the scenes working with bands and designing album covers he would quickly fall into the spotlight when he began taking improvisation classes in 1975 phil hartman watched an improv group called the groundlings when the group asked for a member of the audience
to get involved phil said he knew instantly that this was something he had to be part of he auditioned for and joined the famed improv comedy troupe shortly thereafter the groundings helped birth the careers of stars such as will farrell lisa cudrow kathy griffin and jimmy fallon amongst many many others another notable star was paul rubins famed for his character pb hermann phil hartmann helped develop this character with rubens as they were working on the pee wee hermann show for a long time until the pair parted ways after a falling out after this his career
began to take off even more and he was appearing in various pilots films and commercials his second wife lisa jarvis said that while phil's characters were part of himself they were also like his armor she said that although he was an entertainer creative and passionate at the same time he was incredibly hard to reach emotionally and withdrew very quickly a few years after their relationship ended in 1985 phil met brynn armdale on a blind date brynn originally named vickie joe was stunning and funny and the chemistry between her and phil was instant after modelling for
years in her hometown brynn made the journey to los angeles with the hope of being in show business she was described as very ambitious and eager to prove herself it was here that she changed her name from vicki joe to bryn before phil and brynn met she had also spent time in rehab for cocaine and quaalude abuse drugs were an ongoing problem which would mark and impact their relationship throughout its time friends would say that when they were good they were great but the frequent arguments and volatility between the pair was clear for all to
see in 1986 phil hartman made an incredible leap in his career he was asked to audition for saturday night live for comedians and comedic actors snl was where it was happening and becoming a cast member was a highly sought after and coveted job onlookers hung on his every word during his audition and it came as no surprise when he was offered a spot his impressions of people such as bill clinton and frank sinatra became iconic and the audience and cast adored him his good friend and fellow snl writer dana kaufman described him as a generous
and supportive performer but always wanted to make the rest of the cast look as good as possible snl put phil hartman and his amazing comedic capabilities firmly in the public eye and he soon became a fan favorite he won an emmy for his contributions to the saturday night live writing team he was also nicknamed glue by fellow performers for his abilities to hold the show together and help out the other performers where needed despite their issues brit and phil married in 1987 and quickly became quite the hollywood power couple at the end of phil hartman's
second season of saturday night live he and bryn welcomed their first child a son named shawn upon hearing the joyful news phil's ex-wife lisa jarvis sent a letter to the family offering to help look after the baby should they ever need it she said she receives an abusive death threat back from bryn phil took to being a father quickly and his baby boy shawn was his pride and joy the family began splitting their time between new york and los angeles and he and brynn had a second baby a little girl named bergen phil and bryn
seemed to have it all but friends of the star said it was clear that the cracks in the relationship were very apparent people that knew the couple said that phil didn't like confrontation and struggled to open up emotionally whereas brynn was very vocal but often chose the worst times to start the conversations brynn began to show up to the saturday night live set more frequently and cast and crew members often saw heated arguments between the two during a table read-through for a new episode of the show bryn turned up to the set and began sitting
on various men's laps and flirting with different people although phil didn't seem to pay much attention in a bid to keep the peace the other cast members were left feeling uncomfortable people felt this was an attempt by bryn to get attention from phil as she was feeling lonely and insecure in the marriage as well as prescription drugs bryn had relapsed and started drinking and using cocaine again although this was noticed by members of the snl cast it wasn't uncommon at the time alcohol and drugs were a frequent feature among many a dressing room with some
stars as famous for their drug taking as their comedy friends also said that bryn had become resentful of phil's career and wanted her own shot at being in the limelight phil argued that he was the breadwinner for the family and everything he did was for them phil also told friends that he would often have to restrain bryn when she became physical during fights as well as his work on snl phil accepted various roles on the simpsons further cementing his place in pop culture in 1995 after eight seasons on saturday night live phil hartman decided to
step away from the show he is still regarded as one of the finest comedic talents to ever appear on snl and fellow casting crew members said there was a definite void when he left he was working hard on a pilot for his show entitled the phil show in which he would make sure bryn got a leading role however the pilot never made it to air and brynn was reportedly devastated and not being able to work with her husband on this project instead phil signed up to be part of a new sitcom called news radio working
alongside many a famous face he was earning around fifty thousand dollars an episode and was at the height of his career he bryn and their two children moved permanently to a 1.4 million dollar mansion in encino california fulfilled a focus on the sitcom and his family despite his professional accolades he couldn't escape his personal turmoil in his marriage and the explosive arguments continued on mother's day 1997 bryn came home late reportedly drunk and high on cocaine phil was horrified and said if this behavior continued he would have to divorce her and take the children he
said if she didn't check into rehab the marriage was over bryn checked into a rehab in arizona the following day but left after less than a week claiming she didn't need to be there after a fourth season of news radio was commissioned phil decided to take a summer break to spend more time with his family and work on his marriage phil and brynn hartman also reached their 11-year anniversary may 27 1998 despite their marital issues they always aim to have a weekly date night while their children spend time with a nanny on may 27th their
day began with the couple talking about what they would do for their weekly dates according to sources filler got in his days confused and forgotten about the date nights which sparks yet another argument phil left the family home to go shopping and get some space and bryn decided she was going to head out too leaving the children with the nanny she started getting ready for an evening out with a friend sometime around 7 30 p.m brynne hartman went to meet her friend christine zander for dinner and drinks telling the nanny she would be home to
see the children off to bed christine sander was a producer and writer and friends of bryn speculated she may have been hoping for christine to create a part for her in an upcoming project her friend christine said she did seem in good spirits and in a positive frame of mind around 9 30 p.m phil arrived at home and let the nanny go he put the children to bed and headed to bed himself around 9 45 bryn asked christine if she wanted to carry on drinking in another bar but christine couldn't stay out any later while
christine went to the bathroom she said that brynn made a phone call which she was worried may have been to score drugs they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways at 10 15 pm bryn drove across town to studio city to go to her friend and ex-lover ron douglas's house they drank beer and caught up with bryn attempting to briefly call phil but he didn't pick up the phone just before midnight ron told brynn that it was best for her to head home as he didn't want any issues with phil when bryn arrived home
at around 1am she began using cocaine although what happened next is speculation it is understood that she and phil would have argued phil didn't want to fight and decided to go back to sleep leaving bryn to her own devices [Music] sometime before 3am brynn already intoxicated snorted another line of cocaine and grabbed one of hartmann's many guns she entered the bedroom and shot her husband three times as he slept between the eyes in the throat and in his chest their nine-year-old son sean woke up to what he thought was a door slamming and he heard
his mother crying heavily intoxicated manic and in a state of shock bring got in her car and drove to see her friend ron douglas she was frantic and immediately confessed to killing phil however due to brynn's often erratic nature ron didn't initially believe her it was clear that she was in a drug-induced state and he assumed that they had simply had another argument he attempted to sober her up and at around 6 am ron was fairly satisfied that she was able to drive but bryn wanted ron to go back to the house with her ron
said that while they were talking a gun fell out of bryn's purse and he immediately knew he had to follow her car back to the house upon entering the bedroom ron saw phil hartman it was clear that nothing could be done and he was already deceased ron douglas phone 9-1-1 [Music] during this time bryn barricaded herself in the bedroom with phil's body she phoned her sister and asked her to take care of shaun and bergen at 6 20 am the police surrounded hartman's home they find a visibly distressed shawn at the front of the house
hearing the police encroaching brynn lay next to her husband and shot herself we begin with the murder investigation that has stunned the entertainment world phil hartman who gained fame on saturday night live was found shot dead in his home apparently killed by his wife who then committed suicide abc's carla wool has more from los angeles at 6 20 this morning residents of this upscale encino neighborhood called police to report gunshots coming from the hartman's gated estate officers arrived to find a nine-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl by the front door both obviously upset as they
were taking the children out of the house officers heard a gunshot in the master bedroom there they discovered comedian phil hartman dead authorities say it appears his wife brynn shot him then turned the gun on herself mr hartman had been dead for a while he did not die at the same time that mrs hartman apparently killed herself as the story began to break the world was in a state of shock in the days and weeks following on from the devastating event many theories began to circulate one of which was there was an affair going on
between ron douglas and bren hartman which culminated in a crime of passion another theory was that bryn was hoping to attempt to frame ron for the murder and that's why she drove to his house with the gun no theory has ever been proven ron douglas flatly denied any involvement and said that until he got to the house he had no idea what had happened it will never be known what was going on inside the mind of brynn hartman in the early hours of may 28th as well as a high level of cocaine the antidepressant zoloft
was in bryn's system and her blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent well above the legal limit brenner told friends that she had been prescribed zoloft by her children's doctor but that it made her feel strange and out of her own body medical examiners looked into the side effect of zoloft and whether this could have altered her state of mind that night as well as disorientation and hallucinations it can occasionally bring on suicidal feelings many of bryn's family members believe this drug could have played a key role in the events that took place that fateful night
in 1999 the hartman estate filed a lawsuit against pfizer the pharmaceutical company that produces the drug zoloft claiming there were little warnings about the side effects and danger of mixing the drug with alcohol the family did receive an out-of-court settlement from pfizer before it ever went to court however the theory surrounding the impact of zoloft remains an uncertain area as levels of the drug in brin system were low according to the toxicology report in the early hours of may 28 1999 two young children lost their parents family and friends lost their loved ones and the
world felt the loss of an incredible talent shawn and berg and hartman went to live with their aunt and uncle in wisconsin and were raised under a different name to shield them from the public eye sean took after his father and is an artist and musician carving a creative career for himself bergen has degrees in journalism and communication from university and has her own business she even made a special appearance on snl's 40th anniversary celebration in 2015 to honor her father both children dedicated a memorial to their parents in greenwood cemetery the deaths of phil
and brynn hartmann shocked the world but phil hartman's amazing comedic talents continued to live on through the world of entertainment his friends family and their children [Music] you
