In 1998, actor and comedian Phil Hartman died at 49 in a murder-suicide carried out by his wife. And friend Jon Lovitz once accused Andy Dick of helping create the circumstances that led to tragedy. Then, the tensions between them reemerged when Dick threatened Lovitz with “the Phil Hartman hex,” which Lovitz said made him want to “smash him.”
Jon Lovitz once claimed Andy Dick gave Phil Hartman’s wife cocaine during her sobriety
As reported by CBS, Lovitz revealed in an interview with Dennis Miller he heard from Hartman that Dick gave his 10-years sober wife, Brynn Hartman, cocaine at a Christmas party. Following the tragedy which left both Phil and Brynn Hartman dead, toxicology results showed she had been under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.
Dick later confessed he did give Brynn the drug. But he added she asked for it and was already experiencing a relapse, per ABC.
While addiction wasn’t the only issue in the marriage, it agitated many of the couple’s other problems. Friends reported Hartman would disengage and go to sleep to avoid fights. On the other hand, Brynn was desperate for his attention and would get “amped up” to try and draw him in.
It was seemingly during one of those toxic blowups that Brynn turned a gun on Hartman, then herself.
Andy Dick ‘put the Phil Hartman hex’ on Jon Lovitz
Though it was the least of Hartman’s loved ones’ concerns, his death left a hole on the show NewsRadio. So, his old friend Lovitz joined the cast. Dick was already on the show then, along with Joe Rogan.
According to Lovitz, Dick was “complaining” and giving him “a hard time for no reason” before he eventually told him he shouldn’t be there. So, Lovitz replied, “Well, I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t given Brynn coke in the first place.”
But their words didn’t escalate beyond that. “Later on we made up, and I said ‘I’m sorry I said that,'” Lovitz told Miller. “I realized it really wasn’t his fault. Everything was fine for years.”
Many years after Hartman’s violent death, when a heavily intoxicated Dick visited a restaurant that Lovitz co-owned, he approached the table where the comedian sat with guests and drank their bottles of peach liqueur.
“He’s standing there with liqueur dripping down his chin and he says, ‘I put the Phil Hartman hex on you, you’re the next one to die,'” Lovitz described to Miller. “And he’s smiling, and my blood just went to my head. I wanted to smash him, but if I hit him he would have gone flying into the table behind him.”
So, Lovitz told Dick’s friend to get him out and banned him from the restaurant. But they crossed paths again later. And this time, their confrontation was more than just a conversation.
Jon Lovitz wanted Andy Dick to apologize for ‘Phil Hartman hex’ comment
According to Lovitz’s interview with Miller, he reencountered Dick and expected him to apologize for his behavior in the restaurant. But instead, Dick told him, “Well, you know why I said that? Because you said I killed Phil Hartman. That’s the first thing you said to me when you got on the show.”
“I just lost it, so I grabbed him by the shirt and I pushed him against the wall. And he’s just smiling at me …” the former Saturday Night Live star shared. “I … pushed him really hard and I smashed his back and his head into the bar. And I did it again. I would have kept going, but the doorman broke it up.”
During the interview, Miller described Lovitz as “one of the most loveable, easygoing guys” and said he “loves” the story about Dick. “Good for you my friend,” he concluded.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
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