Phil Hartman was a popular comedian and a regular on the television show Saturday Night Live. Hartman was murdered 15 years ago by his wife who shot him during an argument and then turned the gun on herself. The couple’s children who were nine and six at the time were also in the home during the murder/suicide but were not harmed. At the time of the murder, police could not determine a motive.

Friends and neighbors of the couple claimed that they always seemed happy and balanced and all were shocked at the news of the murder. Police said, “We know for sure (Brynn Hartman) inflicted her own gunshot wound, and she apparently shot herself as the officers were in the house,” said Lt. Anthony Alba of the Los Angeles Police Department. “Mr. Hartman had been dead for a while. He did not die at the same time that Mrs. Hartman apparently killed herself.”

Phil Hartman was born in Canada but grew up in the United States. He was a successful comedian who was a member of the Saturday Night Live cast for eight seasons. He was skilled at impersonations and could impersonate over 70 characters and voices. He would have turned 65 today.

Friends and family members of the comedian tweeted and shared videos clips of Hartman and some of his most memorable moments and performances.

When Hartman was murdered, he joined several other Saturday Night Live members who have been “cursed” with dying at an early age. Others include, John Belushi who died of a drug overdose at the age of 33, Gilda Radner who died at age 42 of ovarian cancer and Chris Farley who also died of an overdose at the age of 33. Hartman himself was 49 when he was murdered.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.