Brynn Hartman
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Brynn Hartman (born Vicki Omdahl) (April 11, 1958 – May 28, 1998) was the wife and killer of actor and comedian Phil Hartman.
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[edit] Early life
Vicki Omdahl was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, to Donald Gene Omdahl and Constance Faye Omdahl (née Arnold), and had a brother named Gregory.
[edit] 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, actor Phil Hartman, 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). At the time, Phil's career was near its highest point.
[edit] Murder of Phil Hartman and suicide
In 1998, after an argument she killed her husband in his sleep with three shots using a revolver which was a gift from Phil and later that same night, killed herself. Around 2am or 3am, she drove to her friend Ron Douglas's house. She confessed her drug use and Phil's murder to him, but he did not believe her. At 6:20am, the two of them drove back to the Hartman home where Douglas discovered Phil's body.
Douglas subsequently called the police who arrived on the scene to escort the two children, Sean and Birgen, out of the house. Before the police attended to her, Brynn 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 suicide. In a 1998 People Online article, Small also stated that the couple argued over Brynn's 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, Brynn combined cocaine, alcohol, and Zoloft at the Hollywood restaurant, Buca di Beppo, the night of the murder/suicide.
