Murder-Suicide Claims Actor, Wife

Former “Saturday Night Live” comic Phil Hartman was shot to death early Thursday, apparently by his wife, who killed herself as police were shepherding the couple’s two children from the family’s million-dollar Encino home.

Officers responding to the gunfire that they believe killed Hartman found the door to the home open and saw the couple’s 9-year-old, Sean, standing inside. They took the boy from the house, then returned to get his 6-year-old sister, Birgen, when they heard a single shot that Hartman’s 41-year-old wife, Brynn, apparently fired to take her own life.

Upon searching the home in the 5000 block of Encino Avenue, a tree-lined street of pricey homes just north of Ventura Boulevard, police found both Hartmans dead in the couple’s upstairs bedroom.

Phil Hartman, 49, clad in boxers and a T-shirt, was lying on his side on the bloody bed.

Brynn Hartman, in a two-piece sleep suit, was on her back.

There was no sign of a struggle, police said.

The two young children, who police said suffered no physical injuries, were distraught as they were escorted away in their pajamas to a police station for questioning, authorities said.

The apparent murder-suicide shocked longtime friends of Hartman, who was known for masterful impersonations of such figures as President Clinton and Liberace.

Hartman starred in the current NBC situation comedy “News-Radio,” provided voices for “The Simpsons” and will appear in “Small Soldiers,” a movie set for release next month.

Although the coroner’s office did not release a time of death, police believed that Brynn Hartman killed her husband some time before they reached the house at 6:20 a.m.

“Mr. Hartman had been dead for a while,” police spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba said.

Craig Harvey, the coroner’s chief investigator, said police told him that an unidentified man was at the home when police arrived and that the man had placed a 911 call. Police declined to confirm the account, or to release details of the man’s role in the incident.

Harvey said police took two revolvers from the scene. A woman who described herself as a friend of Brynn Hartman’s said the former model bought a gun upon moving from New York to Los Angeles about six years ago because she felt unsafe in the family’s four-bedroom, five-bath, 4,000-square-foot home.

“She had guns in the house, but I begged her to get rid of them,” said the friend, who declined to give her last name and said she had met Brynn shortly after she arrived in Los Angeles. “She didn’t feel safe in this house.”

The woman and her sister said they talked frequently with Brynn and knew of no marital discord. Both described Brynn Hartman as a doting mother who took great pride in her two children.

But other friends and neighbors said there were clues of trouble in the marriage, Phil Hartman’s third.

Andrea Diamond, who said she had been a friend of the couple for six years, said Brynn had spoken to her about problems in the marriage, but “I didn’t take it seriously--he’s in the industry, those kinds of things happen all the time.”

“There were rumors,” Diamond said. “But . . . you could tell he loved her. I don’t know why she would do this to the kids.”

Hartman was born in Canada in 1948, and the family moved to Los Angeles in 1960. His father, Rupert, was a salesman of roofing supplies and building materials.

Hartman attended schools in Westchester and showed an early interest in drama. While at Orville Wright Junior High School, he shared the stage with Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who is serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of then-President Gerald R. Ford.

Even after Hartman left Westchester and became famous, he never lost touch with old friends and remained a down-to-earth person, numerous friends said.

Hartman attended Santa Monica College and Cal State Northridge, where he majored in graphic design. An early highlight was designing the logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

In 1975, he joined the Groundlings, an improvisational Los Angeles comedy group. Tim Stack, a former member of the Groundlings, recalled the actor/comedian as a generous friend who loved his family.

At a lunch the two men had at a San Fernando Valley deli two weeks ago, Hartman talked about reducing his workload this summer so he could spend more time with his family.

“A friend had wanted him to work on this movie for Showtime, but Phil said that he didn’t want to work that hard over the summer,” Stack said. “He said he wanted to go to Canada. He and Brynn were getting into hiking, and he said they would come to Santa Barbara soon to hike on the trails.”

Hartman never talked of trouble within the family or marriage, Stack said. “In fact, that was the weird thing,” he recalled. “His second marriage was the tempestuous marriage, not this one. . . . But he had such great affection for Brynn. He said, ‘This is the one that’s for real.’ The crazy years were behind him.”

Although Hartman helped create the Pee-wee Herman persona of comedian Paul Reubens after meeting him in 1978, his career didn’t really take off until he joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1986. Hartman shared co-writing credit on the 1985 feature “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

Hartman’s average looks and poker face helped him do imitations of more than 50 characters, including Ed McMahon and Presidents Reagan and Clinton.

Hartman left the cast in 1994. In 1990, he began doing regular voices on “The Simpsons,” and in 1995 he began starring in the role of a self-centered and arrogant anchor on “NewsRadio.”

NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield said no decisions had yet been made about the future of “NewsRadio,” which is scheduled to return in the fall.

With material success secured, friends and family said the Hartmans had increasingly expressed a desire in recent years to focus on their children.

His son Sean was a particular source of pride, according to Stack--following in his father’s footsteps as a graphic artist.

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Phil Hartman 1948-1998

Sept. 24, 1948: Born in Brantford, Canada.

1960: Moved to Southern California. He attended Cal State Northridge and worked as a graphic artist, creating rock ‘n’ roll album covers. Designed logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

1975: Joined Los Angeles comedy improvisation troupe the Groundlings. His work there with fellow performer Paul Reubens led to appearances on Reubens’ CBS series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” Hartman also co-wrote the 1985 film, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

1986: Joined cast of “Saturday Night Live,” and remained on the show for eight seasons. Best known for his impressions of Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra and Ed McMahon.

1990: Became a U.S. citizen.

1990: Began regular work with “The Simpsons,” provi-ding the voices of such characters as actor Troy McClure and lawyer Lionel Hutz. Appeared on 49 episodes, recor-ding the final one on April 22 for telecast in the fall.

1995: Hired to play egotistical newscaster Bill McNeal on “NewsRadio,” a comedy still running on NBC.

May 28, 1998: Killed in his Encino home.

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Times staff writers T. Christian Miller, Vanessa Hua, Eric Rimbert, Andrew Blankstein, John J. Goldman, Jeff Leeds and Jill Leovy, and correspondent Joe Mozingo contributed to this story.