The Tragic Story of Phil Hartman

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Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast 8 min 2 speakers 6 chapters transcribed

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Who was Phil Hartman and what was his early career like?

Narrator 0:00

So this guy is one of the top comedic talents in the world, working on one of the biggest comedy shows in the world. And then, one day, suddenly, bang! Someone unalives him. Why? Now the guy, his name's Phil, and Phil wants nothing more than to be a famous comedian one day. He's taking improv classes, he's doing stand-up comedy, he's working as much as he can to make it big. But then, one day, he gets a little success. He and his friend, they create a fictional character named Pee-Wee Herman. And that character ends up having his own show called Pee-Wee's Playhouse. And Phil, sometimes on that show, he plays a side character named Captain Carl. So Phil's career, it starts to move along. And he gets even more success when he co-writes the script for the Pee-Wee Herman movie. And then he gets to cameo in that movie. Look, there he is right there. So then that movie blows up and Phil, he's getting some cameos and some movies and some TV shows and he's even getting some voice acting roles. So his life is going really well. But then he meets this woman, Brynn.

What breakthrough role did Phil Hartman land?

Narrator 1:07

And Brynn's a former swimsuit model and she's an aspiring actress and Phil thinks she is foint and they start dating. And around the time he starts dating Brynn, Phil finally gets a career opportunity that's going to change his life. he gets the chance to audition for Saturday Night Live. And he goes in there and he freaking nails this audition. And so they cast him on the show. And this is his dream job. And the other cast members, they love him. And the SNL audience, they love him. They love his impressions of Ronald Reagan.

Advertisement voice 1:40

Jimmy, don't make me have to kill you.

Narrator 1:44

And everyone especially loves his impression of Bill Clinton.

Advertisement voice 1:47

Please, don't tell Mrs. Clinton. Jim, let me tell you something. There's gonna be a whole bunch of things we don't tell Mrs. Clinton.

How did Brynn impact Phil's life and career?

Narrator 1:55

Then he starts doing a lot of voiceover work, namely on the biggest animated sitcom ever, The Simpsons, where he plays several characters, including Troy McClure.

Advertisement voice 2:04

Oh, hi, I'm Troy McClure.

What struggles did Brynn face in her acting career?

Narrator 2:06

So he's getting cast in all kinds of movies and TV shows now. Phil's career is going great, but you want to know whose career isn't going great? Brynn. Now eventually, Phil and Brynn get married. And she, she wants to make it big in Hollywood too. She's an aspiring actress. And while Phil's off doing SNL and The Simpsons and all that stuff, Brynn is stuck at home raising their two kids. And it sucks for her. So his career is blowing up and it's doing absolutely nothing for hers. I mean, she's done some work as a background extra and she had one line in a Rob Reiner movie. One Coca-Cola right here. And one sex on the beach. But that's kind of it. So she's trying everything she can to make it big like Phil. She's going on auditions.

Narrator 2:51

She apparently shows up on the SNL set a lot to visit Phil because allegedly she's hoping she'd get noticed and they would cast her in it. And according to some of the SNL staff, she always wears bright colors and openly flirts with the other cast members. I mean, she is dying to get picked. In fact, she's on the SNL set so much, she actually gets screen time once when they're shooting the opening credit sequence. Now, in that sequence, they introduce Phil, and you can see Brynn in the shot sitting at the table across from him. Now, as the story goes, she allegedly keeps trying to turn her head to get her face in the shot because she wants the attention.

How did Brynn's aspirations affect her relationship with Phil?

Narrator 3:28

And allegedly, the director, he keeps telling her, no. Turn your ass back around. We only need to see the back of your head. Phil is the star. So Brynn wants this really bad. I mean, she wants everything her husband has, but she just can't get it. And on top of that, Phil isn't around as much as she would like because he's busy being successful, which is just a constant reminder to Brynn that he made it big and she didn't. So then of course, deep down, Brynn starts to resent him. He's the talent. He's the star. He's getting all the breaks while she's getting nothing. And this begins to put a strain on their marriage.