The Last Days of Phil Hartman (ABC) - General Discussion

[Guest]

Apparently this aired last night on ABC and I totally missed it. Did anyone watch? I read some tweets about it this morning and was horrified that they seemed to let Brynn's brother go on some sort of "Brynn isn't a murderer...it's the Zoloft's fault!" I'm not having that shit at all. She killed Phil in cold blood because she was a fame-obsessed drug addict whose life was falling apart and decided that robbing the world of one of its rare treasures would solve her problems. Wretched woman.

Of all the celebs who met an early demise, he is the one I miss the most. Such a loss. 

[Spartan Girl]

8 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

Apparently this aired last night on ABC and I totally missed it. Did anyone watch? I read some tweets about it this morning and was horrified that they seemed to let Brynn's brother go on some sort of "Brynn isn't a murderer...it's the Zoloft's fault!" I'm not having that shit at all. She killed Phil in cold blood because she was a fame-obsessed drug addict whose life was falling apart and decided that robbing the world of one of its rare treasures would solve her problems. Wretched woman.

Of all the celebs who met an early demise, he is the one I miss the most. Such a loss. 

That part angered me too. She was the one who mixed booze and god knows what with Zoloft, and that's a big no-no to anyone with a brain. That's on her, along with the murder. Not the drug company.

And while I'll be generous and acknowledge that she probably was a good mother despite her many many issues, this special made it clear that she was nuts. She had Phil followed by a PI and got really violent during their fights. She threatened his ex wife just for sending a congratulations card about their first baby. If those aren't red flags for divorce, nothing is.

I'm glad the kids are doing okay. I can't imagine how horrible that morning must have been for them.

[annzeepark914]

I think I'm glad I missed this special.  It would have made me very angry seeing her again.  I remember reading in an article years ago that she kept trying to turn around and face the camera (in that SNL intro that featured Phil talking to someone in a restaurant) but they kept telling her to turn around, as it was Phil they wanted to showcase since he was a cast member, not her (that's why her dangle earrings were swinging so wildly). Phil and Dan Akroyd were, IMO, the best of SNL.  They could play any character and be credible (and hilarious!)

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I think I'm glad I missed this special.  It would have made me very angry seeing her again.  I remember reading in an article years ago that she kept trying to turn around and face the camera (in that SNL intro that featured Phil talking to someone in a restaurant) but they kept telling her to turn around, as it was Phil they wanted to showcase since he was a cast member, not her (that's why her dangle earrings were swinging so wildly). Phil and Dan Akroyd were, IMO, the best of SNL.  They could play any character and be credible (and hilarious!)

I heard that anecdote about filming that SNL intro, too. Apparently, no matter how many times she was told, Brynn kept trying to get her face in the shot with Phil, hence that swinging earring as said. I'm also glad I missed this. Putting the blame squarely on Zoloft is complete bullshit. It's abundantly clear that Brynn had issues long before Zoloft.

Forget where I had read this, but apparently Brynn would often come to the SNL set and needle Phil into arguments. She clearly was disturbed. If only Phil had left her sooner and taken the kids, although sadly, I'm not sure this would not have happened anyway. I did read that Andy Dick, he of the fitting last name, was also on last night. He can STFU, too, as it is known he gave Brynn Hartman cocaine before this went down. One thing I will always respect Jon Lovitz for is that, when he joined Newsradio after Phil's death, I guess the story goes that he got into an "altercation", shall we say, with Andy Dick. If true, while I usually do not condone violence, I at least understand it in this case. (On YT, Phil's audition video for SNL was up. Not sure if it still is, (ETA: It is! Watch and laugh!) but Jon Lovitz, a friend of Phil's, assisted him in a skit or two. And I guess Phil actually made those judging laugh! I guess the policy was that they tried to never laugh at any audition, to try to be neutral. But you can clearly hear the laughter in that video.)

I can still vividly recall when this happened. Hard to believe it has been twenty years. Phil is still so missed.

By the way, while he was still on SNL, probably one of his very first movie roles, he was in Blind Date with Bruce Willis (Moonlighting era, so with hair!) and Kim Basinger and John Larroquette. The movie wasn't the best, but it had its moments, many thanks to Phil and John Larroquette. Check it out if you are curious.

[doodlebug]

Yes, Bryn’s brother was all over the Zoloft, insisting that it was the cause of the tragedy and conveniently forgot to mention that her blood alcohol level was well over the legal limit and she also had cocaine in her system.  He sued the pharmaceutical company on behalf of the estate and they gave him $100k to go away.  That’s nuisance money, they just didn’t want the publicity of a trial.

The Jon Lovitz  thing was interesting.  He apparently grabbed AD and yelled that it was his fault Phil was dead.  AD, being a dick, denied this because he gave Bryn the cocaine SIX MONTHS before the shooting, not that day.  The fact she had been to rehab and was sober up to that moment is irrelevant.

There were multiple interviews with Phil’s colleagues from News Radio and SNL that were quite moving.  He was a great guy and an awesome coworker.

Edited September 21, 2019 by doodlebug

[Crs97]

I watched parts and then was sad I did.  I didn’t know the stuff about Andy Dick, but was surprised that he was so open to admit giving her cocaine after she asked if he had some and then asked him for it.  I can’t stand the guy, but telling him he’s to blame for Phil’s death seems completely out of bounds.  He certainly didn’t force it up her nose.  She is the only one responsible for her relapse.

Yes, her brother is desperate to get people to believe she isn’t a murderer, which is hard when we all know she murdered someone.  His friends’ stories were heartbreaking.  The rest of them just reeked of people exploiting Phil’s death because they wanted their fifteen minutes of fame (the way the announcers introduced NewsRadio, you would have thought Phil, Vickie Lewis, and Andy Dick were the big three leads on the show).

I missed any talk of Phil’s family and whether they were close.  Usually the kids would go to the victim’s family, not the assailant’s.  I hope the Hartman side got to know the children. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

Yes, her brother is desperate to get people to believe she isn’t a murderer, which is hard when we all know she murdered someone.  His friends’ stories were heartbreaking.  The rest of them just reeked of people exploiting Phil’s death because they wanted their fifteen minutes of fame (the way the announcers introduced NewsRadio, you would have thought Phil, Vickie Lewis, and Andy Dick were the big three leads on the show).

Yep, I presume Dave Foley, Stephen Root and Maura Tierney, having actual successful careers beyond News Radio, didn't want to participate in the gossip fest.  I did like Julia Sweeney's remarks though, she was obviously still feeling Phil's loss and seemed a lot less interested in the gossip and innuendo than the others.  I got the feeling that she did the interview because she wanted people to know Phil Hartman was more than just a victim.  

I agree that Andy Dick didn't kill Phil Hartman, Bryn did.  But Andy's oh-so-glib dismissal of his actions providing Bryn with cocaine when he knew she was an addict was not entirely honest, either.  I presume he was higher than a kite, too, and that is probably why his judgment was so poor that night; but it wouldn't have killed him to say he felt awful for having helping her continue her addiction.  He was a bit more than an innocent bystander in this train wreck and he could've admitted that.

Edited September 21, 2019 by doodlebug

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

I missed any talk of Phil’s family and whether they were close.  Usually the kids would go to the victim’s family, not the assailant’s.  I hope the Hartman side got to know the children. 

There's some information in this article. Phil's brother, John, took the kids in the immediate aftermath of the killings and then he convinced their mother that the best thing for the kids would be to be raised by Bryn's sister Kathy and her husband.  He says they were good people and the ones most able to give the kids the stability they needed and, no matter what else they felt, they needed to do what was best for the kids.  Sounds like the Hartmans kept in touch with them.

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/09/phil-hartman-kids-children-today-now/

Edited September 21, 2019 by doodlebug

[Snow Apple]

22 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I think I'm glad I missed this special.  It would have made me very angry seeing her again.  I remember reading in an article years ago that she kept trying to turn around and face the camera (in that SNL intro that featured Phil talking to someone in a restaurant) but they kept telling her to turn around, as it was Phil they wanted to showcase since he was a cast member, not her (that's why her dangle earrings were swinging so wildly). Phil and Dan Akroyd were, IMO, the best of SNL.  They could play any character and be credible (and hilarious!)

They told this story in the special. I never heard it before. She was a real piece of work. Always wanting Phil to use his influence to get her jobs. Another story they told was Phil was developing his own show and Bryn of course wanted to play the wife. The producers(?) wanted Jan Hooks. The show never happened though.

[annzeepark914]

Phil & Jan would've been hilarious together. Both of them could completely disappear into their characters & make them so credible. Right now I can envision them together, totally into the roles they'd be playing. Makes me smile.

[Spartan Girl]

50 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Phil & Jan would've been hilarious together. Both of them could completely disappear into their characters & make them so credible. Right now I can envision them together, totally into the roles they'd be playing. Makes me smile.

I can't watch their "Love Is A Dream" without full-on bawling now.

If Andy Dick hadn't given Brynn the coke, she would have gotten it from someone else, but I agree that Andy is an asshole who could have shown a bit more remorse. I don't blame Jon Lovitz for blaming him -- he loved Phil and he was absolutely destroyed by what happen. At the Phil tribute on the SNL 25th anniversary special, he could barely contain his tears.

Bryn did sound like a nightmare even when sober. You can't blame the murder solely on the addiction and drugs. John Belushi took God knows how many drugs, but he would have killed himself before he laid a finger on his wife.

[TVFan17]

For some reason, I was completely unaware that this aired on TV the other night.   I didn't know about it at all until I saw this specific thread (so thank you, Giant Misfit, for starting it!).   I quickly found it in my On Demand selections and just got done watching it.

I remember actively following this tragic story when it was all over the news.  (And I loved Phil on SNL - he was so talented and funny!)   However, this special brought to light a detail that somehow escaped me all those years ago.....

I don't know how I never knew about Phil's connection to and affection for Catalina Island.  That was what really took me by surprise in this special. 

I live in Los Angeles.  I fell in love with Catalina Island back in 1988 or so, and for quite some time I was going there every year for summertime visits.   It's a great place to go for a day trip, or for a long weekend, but I stayed there once for a full week.    There are some exceptions, but most people either go to Catalina and find themselves bored & underwhelmed and they want to leave, OR they find themselves inexplicably drawn to it, and they want to go back there as often as they can.   I am one of the people in the latter category, and apparently so was Phil Hartman!

Catalina is a casual place that seems as though it is much more distant from the mainland than it actually is, so it serves as a great escape from the hustle and bustle of L.A.    I can see why Phil became so attached to it.  It's far enough away to feel detached from regular life, but it's close enough to get back home quickly if something urgent comes up.    The island has anywhere from 3000 - 5000 year-round residents, and everyone knows each other.   The longtime (older) residents are usually very friendly and welcoming, and they all have stories to share with anyone who is interested in asking.

Over the years, I saw a few celebrities in Avalon (the main town on the island), including Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley, but I would also hear about other celebrities being there, kind of flying under the radar (such as Joe Walsh from The Eagles, or the late Ed McMahon).  Not once did I hear anything about Phil Hartman!    He probably just blended in with the relaxed island life vibe, and no one drew attention to his status.

Now that I hear how much Phil loved Catalina Island, I am convinced that he would have eventually moved there in his golden years, driving a golf cart around the small streets and hills, shopping at the one lone grocery store in town, and hanging out with the locals at either Luau Larry's or the Marlin Club.   It's so sad that he never got to do that, but a part of him will always be there.

[andromeda331]

On 9/21/2019 at 9:06 AM, doodlebug said:

There's some information in this article. Phil's brother, John, took the kids in the immediate aftermath of the killings and then he convinced their mother that the best thing for the kids would be to be raised by Bryn's sister Kathy and her husband.  He says they were good people and the ones most able to give the kids the stability they needed and, no matter what else they felt, they needed to do what was best for the kids.  Sounds like the Hartmans kept in touch with them.

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/09/phil-hartman-kids-children-today-now/

It was real nice hearing how the kids were doing. I've wondered how they were doing over the years. Not that their kids anymore. Sounds like Birgen had a hard time but managed to overcome her addiction. That's good. I'm was a little surprised they ended up with Bryn's sister but it does sound like that they did a good job gave them stability and I'm really glad they kept them out of the spotlight. 

[Armchair Critic]

I really enjoyed Phil's work, I remember what a shock it was when I found out he died. Sounded like Phil could be cold at times, his ex wife said that. He would shut down and not communicate and I think he liked to escape to Catalina. With Brynn being so needy and mentally unstable they ended up being a dangerous combination.

[HunterHunted]

I'm glad I missed this. I loved Phil Hartman. My younger brother told me about Phil's death. He actually called me up to tell me. I was in college and my brother told me to sit down before he shared the info. My brother told me he'd been murdered to which I replied "It was that crazy fucking wife of his."