Few tragedies have been as shocking or sad as the death of Phil Hartman, who was shot to death in his sleep by his wife on May 28, 1998.

Unlike late performers like as John Belushi and Chris Farley, who were larger-than-life, or Gilda Radner, who was an iconic authentic, Hartman was an adaptable everyman who mixed subtle appeal and smarm into authentic personas while nailing impressions of the affluent, famous, and powerful. Hartman, a normally timid person who was educated and had a successful career as a graphic designer, switched to comedy after volunteering to perform on stage at a performance by the legendary Groundlings ensemble in Los Angeles.

In 1986, Hartman joined the cast of Saturday Night Live when the show’s founder, Lorne Michaels, reclaimed control of the show. With realistic characters like the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and smash impressions of Ronald Reagan, Invoice Clinton, Charlton Heston, and Ed McMahon, Hartman was an instant hit there, too. By the time he departed SNL in 1994, he’d won an Emmy as an author, been nominated for another as a performer, and was widely regarded as a key component of a show he’d helped resurrect. Hartman was also a regular on The Simpsons, where he voiced a number of characters, including B-movie star Troy McClure.

After his personal selection sequence failed to get off the ground, he joined the cast of the sitcom NewsRadio, in which he played a cocky and naive radio news anchor.

Despite his on-screen success, Hartman’s private life proved to be more difficult. He was married twice, initially between 1970 and 1972 and again between 1982 and 1985. His charm on stage, though, didn’t always convert to a lively, outgoing off-stage attitude. Hartman was known for being low-key, almost to the point of being obnoxious.

“My sense of Phil was that he was actually two individuals,” his second wife, Lisa Jarvis, told ABC. “He was the man who needed to attract and write and assume and create and give you concepts. He was the actor [and] entertainer, after which he was the recluse.”

After his divorce with Jarvis, Hartman didn’t take long to meet the woman who would become his third wife, Brynn Omdahl.

In an interview, his biographer, Mike Rogers, observed, “His relationships would at all times begin out very intensely — intense emotionality, sexuality — after which they’d inevitably peter out. I imply, with Phil, he was at all times on the hunt for the brand new, the contemporary, and he had an artist’s eye for magnificence.”

Brynn, who had relocated to Los Angeles to work as a mannequin and pursue an acting career, was absolutely gorgeous. She developed a cocaine addiction as she battled in the ruthless world of leisure. When she was set up on a blind date with Hartman in 1986, she was in recovery and sober. After a year of dating, the couple married.

Hartman was never more happy than in the mid-’90s, according to what he told family and friends. The Hartmans had two children, a boy called Sean and a girl named Birgen. However, the gap in their success levels and Hartman’s reclusive personality have caused problems.

Even after years of sobriety, Brynn’s hyperactive mood and feeling of envy caused problems. Brynn didn’t appreciate it when Hartman’s previous wife gave them a note of congratulations after the birth of their kid, for example.

“I acquired again a letter that was hair-curling, fury, rage and [a] loss of life menace from Brynn,” Jarvis said. “The gist of it was, ‘Do not ever f*****g get close to me or my household or I’ll damage you. I by no means wish to hear from you…by no means, ever, ever come close to us or you’ll actually be sorry.’”

The Los Angeles Times quoted Steve Small, Hartman’s lawyer and close friend, as saying, “She got attention by losing her temper. Phil said he had to … restrain her at times.”

Small claims that Hartman would often retire and sleep after their disputes, preferring to let her calm off in a single day. Brynn re-started drinking and abusing cocaine.

Small recalled Hartman telling him, “I am going into my cave and she or he throws grenades to get me out.”

By late May 1998, Brynn had been in and out of treatment, seeking to break her addiction to the medicine and alcohol that, when mixed with her antidepressants, caused violent outbursts.

On the night of May 27, after returning home from dinner with a friend, she had a series of outbursts. Her friend subsequently told People that she had two drinks and didn’t seem unhappy. After a scuffle, Hartman returned to their bed room once more.

The couple possessed a few of firearms, a small collection that Brynn had started when they’d come back to Los Angeles from New York City. She took a .38 Smith & Wesson from their steel lockbox in the closet at 2 a.m. and shot Hartman many times in the head and chest while he slept in bed, wearing just a t-shirt and boxer shorts. He died on the spot.

Jimmy Carr Slammed for ‘truly disturbing’ joke In Netflix Special

Feb 5, 2022

Credit: Netflix

Jimmy Carr has been chastised for a joke that he made in his most recent Netflix comedy show abut travellers.

The comedian’s program, ‘His Dark Material,’ has sparked outrage over a remark he made against the Roma community.

As spectators gasped in horror at the comedian’s use of the Holocaust as a punchline, the joke was dubbed “truly disturbing” and “beyond tasteless.”

“Strap in everyone, you ready?” Carr said in the video, which has gone viral on social media.

He starts the joke by saying: “When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine.

“But they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis.

“No one ever talks about that because no one wants to talk… about the positives.”

Facebook user Alfie Best commented beside the video. “Really goes to show what some people think. I have one thing to say thank you for sharing your views on gypsies as this spreads hate.

“And it shows the world the abundance of abuse we take as gypsy people, glad the audience found it funny.”

Others took to Twitter to express themselves.

“This is truly disturbing and goes way beyond humour,” stated Charity The Traveller Movement, which supports the traveller community.

“We need all your support in calling this out #StopTravellerHate @StopFundingHate.”

The organization has initiated a petition to have “the segments of His Dark Material which celebrate the Romani genocide removed.”

Carr’s “abhorrent” comments were also condemned by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust in a statement.

“We are absolutely appalled at Jimmy Carr’s comment about persecution suffered by Roma and Sinti people under Nazi oppression, and horrified that gales of laughter followed his remarks,” said CEO Olivia Marks-Woldman.

“Hundreds of thousands of Roma and Sinti people suffered prejudice, slave labour, sterilisation and mass murder simply because of their identity – these are not experiences for mockery”.

“These comments from Jimmy Carr are beyond tasteless,” Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said on Twitter.

“The targeting of Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust is no laughing matter. Deeply offensive. I also don’t understand how this was aired @netflix.”

Ms Marks-Woldman advised people to “learn more about the past and the experiences of Roma people today” in order to counter “widespread ignorance” regarding the Nazis’ persecution of Roma people.

“We join the call for Netflix to remove this content from Jimmy Carr’s new show,” Hope Not Hate stated in response to The Traveller Movement’s tweet. “Solidarity with the GRT community!”

Other Twitter users chastised the comic, with one saying, “I am sickened to my stomach and will never watch this heathen of a man again. The suffering and horrors that these ppl, men, women and little children experienced and he gets a cheap laugh out of it. You disgust me @jimmycarr”.

“This is shocking he should be ashamed of himself and the audience laughing,” remarked another.

Another person added: “How is this ok… He should be ashamed of himself.”