It’s been 20 years since Saturday Night Live star Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife Brynn before she went on to take her own life. The tragic incident is being revived and detailed by the late comedian’s brother-in-law, breaking his silence on the tragic situation as part of the ABC special The Last Days of Phil Hartman. Brynn’s brother Greg Omdahl speaks out about how he felt in the wake of the shocking deaths.
“I’ve lost a sister, that was such a wonderful person, and a brother in law that was wonderful,” Omdahl says in the special. “It was very hard. It was like getting punched in the gut because I knew my sister would never murder anyone. It was such a hard thing to face.”
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Hartman was a beloved and celebrated comedy actor and writer, having appeared in TV shows such as The Simpsons and News Radio and films like Jingle All the Way and Houseguest.
He and Brynn married in 1987 and went on to have two children together. During the period, Brynn was an aspiring model and actress, but unfortunately, things never took off for her in the same way as her husband.
She eventually developed an addiction to cocaine and was also taking prescribed antidepressants according to her brother.
“She had a problem with cocaine. She did too much cocaine… I talked her into going through treatment,” Omdahl says in the news special, referring to how to he attempted to help her fight her addiction.
Regardless of Brynn’s issues, Omdahl says that the Hartman’s appeared to be a happy family. “When I watched the old home videos of Brynn and Phil and their kids, it really brought home what loving parents they were…and what a great mother she was,” he said according to the Daily Mail.
However, to others, it was clear that things were not all well. Hartman’s second wife, Lisa, was one of the people who knew that something was wrong, as she says she once got a vicious letter back from Brynn when she wrote to them to congratulate them on their birth of one of their children.
“The gist of it was, “Don’t ever f—ing get near me or my family or I will hurt you. I never want to hear from you…never, ever, ever come near us or you will really be sorry,”‘ Lisa said of the letter.
The couple’s friend Dawna Kaufmann was another person who saw trouble brewing, as she revealed, “Brynn had low self-esteem. She worried about looking older, getting older. The month before they died, Brynn turned 40… For many women, a 40th birthday is a big line in the sand. An emotional event.”
The Last Days of Phil Hartman airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images
