Alt | A portrait photo of a man looking side-ways on at the camera with a serious expression on his face. He has a red rimmed hat on, a brown jacket, a gold and red shirt and a button was a man's face on it. |
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Caption | Phil Hartman in character as Chick Hazard, Private Eye, circa 1978 |
Birth date | September 24, 1948 |
Birth place | Brantford, Ontario, Canada |
Death date | May 28, 1998 |
Death place | Encino, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Birth name | Philip Edward Hartmann |
Occupation | Actor, voice actor, comedian, graphic artist, screenwriter |
Spouse | Gretchen Lewis (1970–unknown)Lisa Strain (1982–1985)Brynn Omdahl (1987–1998) |
Children | Sean Edward (b. 1989) Birgen Anika (b. 1992) |
Resting place | Ashes scattered over Santa Catalina Island's Emerald Bay |
Alma mater | California State University, Northridge |
Nationality | Canadian-American |
Years active | 1975–1998 |
Hartman became famous in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and he stayed on the show for eight seasons. Called “the Glue” for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons as Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, and others, and appeared in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers.
Hartman had been divorced twice before he married Brynn Omdahl in 1987; the couple had two children together. However, their marriage was fractured, due in part to Brynn's drug use. On May 28, 1998, Brynn shot and killed her husband while he slept in their Encino, Los Angeles, home, then committed suicide several hours later. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper...a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with".
After graduating, Hartman studied art at Santa Monica City College, dropping out in 1969 to become a roadie with a rock band. He returned to school in 1972, this time studying graphic arts at California State University, Northridge. While there he developed his own graphic arts business, which created over 40 album covers for bands including Poco and America, as well as the logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash. In the late 1970s, he made his first television appearance on an episode of The Dating Game; he won, but was stood up by his date.
In addition to his work with Reubens, Hartman recorded a number of voice-over roles. These included appearances on The Smurfs, Challenge of the GoBots, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and voicing characters Henry Mitchell and George Wilson on Dennis the Menace. Additionally Hartman developed a strong persona providing voice-overs for advertisements.
Hartman's original Saturday Night Live characters included Eugene, the Anal Retentive Chef and Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. Hartman first performed his Clinton impression on an episode of The Tonight Show. When he met Clinton in 1993 Hartman remarked, "I guess I owe you a few apologies", adding later that he "sometimes [felt] a twinge of guilt about [his Clinton impression]". Clinton showed good humor and sent Hartman a signed photo with the text: "You're not the president, but you play one on TV. And you're OK, mostly." One of Hartman's more famous sketches as Clinton saw the president visit a McDonald's restaurant and explain his policies by eating other customers' food. The writers told him that he was not eating enough during rehearsals for the sketch – by the end of the live performance, Hartman had eaten so much he could barely speak. on an episode of Saturday Night Live. In this episode, Clinton visits a McDonald's restaurant, in one of Hartman's most famous sketches.]] Backstage at SNL, Hartman was called "the Glue", a name coined by Adam Sandler, according to Jay Mohr's book Gasping for Airtime. SNL creator Lorne Michaels explained the reason for the name: "He kind of held the show together. He gave to everybody and demanded very little. He was very low-maintenance." Hartman often helped other cast members. For example, he aided Jan Hooks in overcoming her stage fright. Michaels added that Hartman was "the least appreciated" cast member by commentators outside the show, and praised his ability "to do five or six parts in a show where you're playing support or you're doing remarkable character work". Hartman was nominated for three Emmy Awards for his work on SNL, winning in 1989 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
After his co-stars Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks and Dana Carvey had left, Hartman said he felt "like an athlete who's watched all his World Series teammates get traded off into other directions ... It was hard to watch them leave because I sort of felt we were all part of the team that saved the show." This cast turnover contributed to his leaving the show in 1994. Hartman had originally planned to leave the show in 1991, but Michaels convinced him to stay to raise his profile; his portrayal of Clinton contributed to this goal. Jay Leno offered him the role of his sidekick on The Tonight Show but Hartman opted to stay on SNL. NBC persuaded him to stay on SNL by promising him his own comedy–variety show entitled The Phil Show. He planned to "reinvent the variety form" with "a hybrid, very fast-paced, high energy [show] with sketches, impersonations, pet acts, and performers showcasing their talents". Hartman was to be the show's executive producer and head writer. Before production began, however, the network decided that variety shows were too unpopular and scrapped the series. In a 1996 interview, Hartman noted he was glad the show had been scrapped, as he "would've been sweatin' blood each week trying to make it work". In 1998, he admitted he missed working on SNL, but had enjoyed the move from New York City to Southern California.
Hartman was popular among the staff of The Simpsons. Showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein stated that they enjoyed his work, and used Hartman as much as possible when working on the show. To give Hartman a larger role, they developed the episode "A Fish Called Selma", which focuses on Troy McClure and expands the character's backstory. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said that he "took [Hartman] for granted because he nailed the joke every time", and that his voice acting could produce "the maximum amount of humor" with any line he was given. Before his death, Hartman had expressed an interest in making a live action film about Troy McClure. Many of The Simpsons production staff expressed enthusiasm for the project and offered to help. Hartman said he was "looking forward to [McClure's] live-action movie, publicizing his Betty Ford appearances", and "would love nothing more" than making a film and was prepared to buy the film rights himself in order to make it happen.
Hartman's first starring film role came in 1995's Houseguest, alongside Sinbad. Other films included Greedy, Coneheads, Sgt. Bilko, So I Married an Axe Murderer, CB4, Jingle All the Way, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Small Soldiers, the last of which was his final theatrically released film. At the same time, he preferred working on television. His other television roles included appearances on episodes of Seinfeld, The John Larroquette Show, The Dana Carvey Show, and the HBO TV film The Second Civil War as the President of the United States. He appeared as the kidnapper Randy in the third season cliffhanger finale of 3rd Rock from the Sun—a role written especially for him. He died before filming of the concluding episode could take place. Executive producer Terry Turner decided to recast the part, noting: "I have far too much respect for [Hartman] to try to find some clever way of getting around this real tragedy." Hartman made a considerable amount of money from television advertising, earning $300,000 for a series of four commercials for the soft drink Slice. He also appeared in advertisements for McDonalds (as Hugh McAttack) and 1-800-Collect (as Max Jerome).
Hartman wrote a number of screenplays that were never produced. In 1986, Hartman began writing a screenplay for a film entitled Mr. Fix-It, and completed the final draft in 1991. Robert Zemeckis was signed to produce the film, with Gil Bettman hired to direct. Hartman called it "a sort of a merger of horror and comedy, like Beetlejuice and Throw Momma From the Train", adding, "It's an American nightmare about a family torn asunder. They live next to a toxic dump site, their water supply is poisoned, the mother and son go insane and try to murder each other, the father's face is torn off in a terrible disfiguring accident in the first act. It's heavy stuff, but it's got a good message and a positive, upbeat ending." Zemeckis could not secure studio backing, however, and the project collapsed. Another movie idea involving Hartman's Groundlings character Chick Hazard, Private Eye also fell through.
Brynn drove to the home of her friend Ron Douglas and confessed to the killing but initially he did not believe her. The pair drove back to the house in separate cars after which Brynn called another friend and confessed a second time. Upon seeing Hartman's body, Douglas called 911 at 6:20 a.m. Police subsequently arrived and escorted Douglas and the Hartmans' two children from the premises, by which time Brynn had locked herself in the bedroom and committed suicide, shooting herself once in the head.
Los Angeles police stated Hartman's death was due to "domestic discord" between the couple. A friend recalled that Brynn allegedly "had trouble controlling her anger... She got attention by losing her temper." A neighbor of the Hartmans told a CNN reporter that the couple had been experiencing marital problems: "It's been building, but I didn't think it would lead to this." Steve Guttenberg commented that they were "a very happy couple, and they always had the appearance of being well-balanced".
Other causes for the incident were later suggested. Before committing the act, Brynn was taking the antidepressant drug Zoloft. A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed in 1999 by Brynn's brother, Gregory Omdahl, against the drug's manufacturer, Pfizer, and her child's psychiatrist Arthur Sorosky, who provided samples of Zoloft to Brynn. Hartman's friend and former SNL colleague Jon Lovitz has accused Hartman's former NewsRadio co-star Andy Dick of re-introducing Brynn to cocaine, causing her to relapse and suffer a nervous breakdown. Dick claims to have known nothing of her condition. In 2006, Lovitz claimed that Dick had approached him at a restaurant and said, "I put the Phil Hartman hex on you; you're the next one to die." The following year at the Laugh Factory comedy club in Los Angeles, Lovitz and Dick had a further physical altercation over the issue. Dick does not believe he is at fault in relation to Hartman's death.
Brynn's sister Katharine Omdahl and brother-in-law Mike Wright raised the two Hartman children. Hartman's will stipulated that each child will receive their inheritance over several years after they turn 25. The total value of Hartman's estate was estimated at $1.23 million. In accordance with Hartman's will, his body was cremated by Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Glendale, California, and his ashes were scattered over Santa Catalina Island's Emerald Bay.
Rehearsals for The Simpsons were canceled on the day of Hartman's death, as was that night's performance by The Groundlings. The season five premiere episode of NewsRadio, "Bill Moves On", finds Hartman's character, Bill McNeal, has died of a heart attack, while the other characters reminisced about his life. Jon Lovitz joined the show in his place from the following episode. A special episode of Saturday Night Live commemorating Hartman's work on the show aired on June 13, 1998. Rather than substituting another voice actor, the writers of The Simpsons retired Hartman's characters, and the season ten episode "Bart the Mother" (his final appearance on the show) was dedicated to him.
At the time of his death, Hartman was preparing to voice Zapp Brannigan, a character written specifically for him on Groening's second animated series Futurama. Following Hartman's death, Futurama's lead character Philip J. Fry was named in his honor and Billy West took over the role of Brannigan. West later said that he purposely tweaked Zapp's voice to better match Hartman's intended portrayal. Hartman was also planning to appear with Lovitz in the indie film The Day of Swine and Roses scheduled to begin production in August 1998.
Laugh.com and Hartman's brother John Hartmann published the album Flat TV in 2002. The album is a selection of comedy sketches recorded by Hartman in the 1970s which had been kept in storage until their release. Hartmann commented: "I'm putting this out there because I'm dedicating my life to fulfilling his dreams. This [album] is my brother doing what he loved." A 2010 campaign started on Facebook by Alex Stevens and endorsed by Hartman's brother Paul to have Hartman inducted to Canada's Walk of Fame ended in failure. However, it is likely he will be inducted to both the Canadian and Hollywood Walk of Fame at some point.
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
The Gong Show Movie | Man at airport with gun | Credited as "Phil Hartmann" | |
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie | Actor being filmed in the background | ||
1982 | Reporter | Credited as "Phil Hartmann" | |
1984 | Weekend Pass | Joe Chicago | |
1985 | Pee-wee's Big Adventure | ReporterRodeo announcer | Also co-wrote screenplay |
Jean-Michel | |||
Fred | Credited as "Phil E. Hartmann" | ||
Sam | Credited as "Philip E. Hartmann" | ||
Ted Davis | |||
Air conditionerHanging lamp | |||
Amazon Women on the Moon | Baseball announcer | ||
Fletch Lives | Bly manager | ||
How I Got Into College | Bennedict | ||
1990 | Quick Change | Hal Edison | |
Loaded Weapon 1 | Officer Davis | ||
CB4 | Virgil Robinson | ||
Marlax | |||
So I Married an Axe Murderer | John "Vicky" Johnson | ||
Frank | |||
The Pagemaster | Tom Morgan | ||
The Crazysitter | The Salesman | ||
Houseguest | Gary Young | ||
Stuart Saves His Family | Announcer | Uncredited | |
Major Colin Thorn | |||
Jingle All the Way | Ted Maltin | ||
Kiki's Delivery Service | Jiji | English dub of Japanese film 'Majo no takkyûbin';posthumously released | |
Small Soldiers | Phil Fimple | Posthumously released | |
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night | Additional voices | Posthumously released |
Year | Show | Role | Notes |
1979 | Additional voices | ||
1980 | The Six O'Clock Follies | Unnamed role | |
The Pee-wee Herman Show | Captain Carl | Also writer | |
Additional voices | |||
1983 | The Pop 'N Rocker Game | Announcer | |
Challenge of the GoBots | Additional voices | ||
Magnum, P.I. | Newsreader | Episode 5.4: "The Legacy of Garwood Huddle" | |
1985 | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | Additional voice | Episode 1.9: "It's a Wonderful Scoob" |
1986 | Henry MitchellGeorge WilsonVarious characters | Replaced by Maurice LaMarche after the first season. | |
1986–1987 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | Captain Carl | Series regular; left after season one. |
1986–1994 | Saturday Night Live | Various characters | Also writerMain cast member; appeared in 155 episodes. |
1987 | DuckTales | Sea Captain | Episode 1.56: "Scrooge's Pet" |
1988 | Fantastic Max | Additional voices | |
Additional voices | Episode 1.1: "One Sweet and Sour Chinese Adventure to Go" | ||
On the Television | Various characters | Episode 1.13: "M. Superior" | |
TaleSpin | Ace London | Episode 1.56: "Mach One for the Gipper" | |
Gravedale High | Additional voices | ||
Tiny Toon Adventures | Octavius | Episode 1.45: "Whale's Tales" | |
Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Russian Ambassador | Episode 2.1: "Mind Pollution"; uncredited | |
Tim Cornell | Episode 3.18: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" | ||
Darkwing Duck | Paddywhack | Episode 1.56: "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain" | |
One Special Victory | Mike Rutten | TV film | |
1991–1998 | The Simpsons | Troy McClureLionel HutzVarious characters | Recurring guest star; appeared in 54 episodes."Bart the Mother" aired posthumously |
1992 | Parker Lewis Can't Lose | Phil Diamond | Episode 3.9: "Lewis and Son" |
Daybreak | Man in abstinence commercial | TV film; uncredited | |
Animaniacs | Dan Anchorman | Episode 1.41: "Broadcast Nusiance" | |
The Twelve Days of Christmas | Additional voice | TV film | |
The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode 2.4: "The Stalker" | |
1994 | The Critic | Adolph HitmakerBernie WassermanProfessor Blowhard | Episode 1.6: "Eyes on the Prize" |
The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show | Various characters | ||
The John Larroquette Show | Otto Friedling | Episode 3.4: "A Moveable Feast" | |
Night Stand with Dick Dietrick | Gunther Johann | Episode 1.23: "Illegal Alien Star Search" | |
1995–1998 | NewsRadio | Bill McNeal | Main cast member; appeared in 75 episodes.Hartman died between the fourth and fifth seasons. |
The Dana Carvey Show | Larry King | Episode 1.3: "The Mountain Dew Dana Carvey Show" | |
Caroline in the City | Host | Episode 2.2: "Caroline and the Letter"; uncredited | |
The Ren & Stimpy Show | Additional voices | Episodes 5.2: "Space Dogged/Feud for Sale" and 5.4: "Stimpy's Pet/Ren's Brain" | |
Seinfeld | Man on phone | ||
1996, 1998 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | PhillipRandy | Episodes 1.7: "Lonely Dick" and 3.27: "Eat, Drink, Dick, Mary" |
1997 | The Second Civil War | President of the United States | TV film |
1999 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Game show host | Episode 6.4: "The Empress's Nightingale"Final recorded performance; posthumously aired. |
Year | Game | Role |
1997 | Virtual Springfield | Troy McClureLionel Hutz |
1998 | Captain Blasto |
Category:1948 births Category:1998 deaths Category:Actors from California Category:Album-cover and concert-poster artists Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American graphic designers Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American murder victims Category:American people of Canadian descent Category:American screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:California State University, Northridge alumni Category:Canadian comedians Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Murder–suicides Category:Murdered entertainers Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Brantford Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People murdered in California Category:The Groundlings
da:Phil Hartman de:Phil Hartman es:Phil Hartman fr:Phil Hartman it:Phil Hartman nl:Phil Hartman ja:フィル・ハートマン no:Phil Hartman pl:Phil Hartman pt:Phil Hartman ru:Хартман, Фил Эдвард sq:Phil Hartman fi:Phil Hartman sv:Phil Hartman tr:Phil HartmanThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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