History Creator / PhilHartman

Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born comedian and actor famous for starring on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' from 1986 to 1994,[[note]]Considered by many to be the show's second GoldenAge after fumbling around blindly in utter mediocrity from 1980 with Jean Doumanian's cast to nearly getting canceled in 1985 with Creator/LorneMichaels' return featuring a disjointed cast of semi-famous people and bizarre writing from writers who didn't know how to work with the cast on making them funny as a unit.[[/note]] for his guest appearances on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as incompetent attorney Lionel Hutz (who has a law office at the local mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm") and washed-up B-movie actor Troy [=McClure=], and for starring as Bill [=McNeal=] on the sitcom ''Series/NewsRadio''.

* NiceGuy: People who knew Phil in real life would say he was the nicest guy they ever met. A biopic about him was in the works for some time that would have been entitled "Nice Guy Phil".

Hartman had a strained marital life. Having married twice and divorced both times just a few years later, he eventually wed Brynn Omdahl in 1987. However, his success became intimidating to Brynn, who sought increasing solace in drugs and entered rehab numerous times as Hartman continuously tried to help her break into acting. On May 27, 1998, their marriage reached a breaking point: Hartman and Brynn entered a heated argument over her drug addiction, with Hartman threatening to leave her [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness (something neither of them had previously discussed or even considered)]] if she couldn't remain sober before eventually retiring to bed. That night, Brynn took a combination of cocaine and alcohol, entered her husband's bedroom, and shot him to death just before 3 A.M. on the morning of May 28. Three hours later, she killed herself.

* DownerEnding: His death from multiple gunshot wounds at the age of 49 by his own wife mind you (to be fair she was under a lot of trauma that even Phil was trying to help her get through).

* NiceGuy: Almost everybody who worked with him would have said he was the nicest guy they ever met. There is even a biopic about Hartman in the making called "Nice Guy Phil" referencing this fact.

On May 28, 1998, while he was still sleeping, Hartman was shot to death by his wife Brynn, who was under the influence of drugs and killed herself shortly afterward.

Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born comedian and actor famous for starring on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' from 1986 to 1994,[[note]]Considered by many to be the show's second GoldenAge after fumbling around blindly in utter mediocrity from 1980 with Jean Doumanian's cast to nearly getting canceled in 1985 with LorneMichaels' return featuring a disjointed cast of semi-famous people and bizarre writing from writers who didn't know how to work with the cast on making them funny as a unit.[[/note]] for his guest appearances on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as incompetent attorney Lionel Hutz (who has a law office at the local mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm") and washed-up B-movie actor Troy [=McClure=], and for starring as Bill [=McNeal=] on the sitcom ''Series/NewsRadio''.

The outpouring of sympathy was immense. ''Simpsons'' creator Creator/MattGroening had Hartman's characters Hutz and [=McClure=] retired from the show (though those two characters did appear in some of the comic book stories), and named ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' protagonist Phillip J. Fry in honor of Hartman, while Creator/BillyWesttook over as the voice of Zapp Brannigan ([[TheOtherMarty who was supposed to be voiced by Hartman]]). ''Series/NewsRadio'' pressed on one more season, this time with his friend Creator/JonLovitz, before being cancelled, because as his castmates put it, "Phil would've wanted us to."

The outpouring of sympathy was immense. ''Simpsons'' creator Creator/MattGroening had Hartman's characters Hutz and [=McClure=] retired from the show (though those two characters did appear in some of the comic book stories), and named ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' protagonist Phillip J. Fry in honor of Hartman, while BillyWest took over as the voice of Zapp Brannigan (who was supposed to be voiced by Hartman). ''Series/NewsRadio'' pressed on one more season, this time with his friend Creator/JonLovitz, before being cancelled, because as his castmates put it, "Phil would've wanted us to."

* FamousLastWords: On a technicality, at least. His final movie role before his tragic murder was providing the English voice of [[CatsAreSnarkers Jiji]] for the English dub of Studio Ghibli's ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService''. In the middle of the film, Kiki starts losing contact to hearing Jiji speak to her. The last words that Jiji says before Kiki discovers that she can no longer understand him and the last words of Phil Hartman on film are "Kiki, can you hear me?!"

* DownerEnding: His death from multiple gunshot wounds at the age of 49.

Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born comedian and actor famous for starring on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' from 1986 to 1994, [[note]]considered by many to be the show's second GoldenAge after fumbling around blindly in utter mediocrity from 1980 with Jean Doumanian's cast to nearly getting canceled in 1985 with LorneMichaels' return featuring a disjointed cast of semi-famous people and bizarre writing from writers who didn't know how to work with the cast on making them funny as a unit[[/note]] for his guest appearances on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as incompetent attorney Lionel Hutz (who has a law office at the local mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm") and washed-up B-movie actor Troy [=McClure=], and for starring as Bill [=McNeal=] on the sitcom ''Series/NewsRadio''.

Hartman has been consistently praised as one of SNL's best performers. His memorable celebrity impressions included Music/FrankSinatra, Creator/CharltonHeston, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Ed [=McMahon=], Creator/KirkDouglas, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Barbara Bush, and UsefulNotes/BillClinton (years before Darrell Hammond would also be famous for the impression[[note]]in fact, a lot of Darrell Hammond's memorable impressions were made famous by Phil Hartman, like UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, Dick Cheney, and Music/JohnnyCash[[/note]]). His original characters included Eugene the Anal-Retentive Chef (who also appeared as an anal-retentive carpenter and an anal-rententive sportsman) and The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. His ability to adapt to any performance and keep the cast working together earned him the nickname "Glue" from co-star Creator/AdamSandler.

The outpouring of sympathy was immense. ''Simpsons'' creator Creator/MattGroening had Hartman's characters Hutz and [=McClure=] retired from the show (though those two characters did appear in some of the comic book stories), and named ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' protagonist Phillip J. Fry in honor of Hartman, while BillyWest took over as the voice of Zapp Brannigan (who was supposed to be voiced by Hartman). ''Series/NewsRadio'' pressed on one more season, this time with his friend Jon Lovitz, before being cancelled, because as his castmates put it, "Phil would've wanted us to."

Hartman has been consistently praised as one of SNL's best performers. His memorable celebrity impressions included Music/FrankSinatra, Creator/CharltonHeston, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Ed [=McMahon=], Creator/KirkDouglas, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Barbara Bush, and UsefulNotes/BillClinton (years before Darrell Hammond would also be famous for the impression[[note]]in fact, a lot of Darrell Hammond's memorable impressions were made famous by Phil Hartman, like UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, Dick Cheney, and Music/JohnnyCash[[/note]]). His original characters included Eugene the Anal-Retentive Chef (who also appeared as an anal-retentive carpenter and an anal-rententive sportsman) and The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. His ability to adapt to any performance earned him the nickname "Glue" from co-star Creator/AdamSandler.

* ''PeeWeesBigAdventure'' (1985)

Hartman has been consistently praised as one of SNL's best performers. His memorable celebrity impressions included FrankSinatra, Creator/CharltonHeston, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Ed [=McMahon=], Creator/KirkDouglas, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Barbara Bush, and UsefulNotes/BillClinton (years before Darrell Hammond would also be famous for the impression[[note]]in fact, a lot of Darrell Hammond's memorable impressions were made famous by Phil Hartman, like UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, Dick Cheney, and Music/JohnnyCash[[/note]]). His original characters included Eugene the Anal-Retentive Chef (who also appeared as an anal-retentive carpenter and an anal-rententive sportsman) and The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. His ability to adapt to any performance earned him the nickname "Glue" from co-star Creator/AdamSandler.

Hartman has been consistently praised as one of SNL's best performers. His memorable celebrity impressions included FrankSinatra, Creator/CharltonHeston, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Ed [=McMahon=], Creator/KirkDouglas, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Barbara Bush, and UsefulNotes/BillClinton (years before Darrell Hammond would also be famous for the impression[[note]]in fact, a lot of Darrell Hammond's memorable impressions were made famous by Phil Hartman, like Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, and Music/JohnnyCash[[/note]]). His original characters included Eugene the Anal-Retentive Chef (who also appeared as an anal-retentive carpenter and an anal-rententive sportsman) and The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. His ability to adapt to any performance earned him the nickname "Glue" from co-star Creator/AdamSandler.

!!Tropes applying to Phil Hartman's work:

* TheDanza: [[invoked]] As Phil Fimple in ''Film/SmallSoldiers''.

* FakeAmerican: [[invoked]] Almost all the characters he played were American; he was Canadian by birth.

* HeAlsoDid: [[invoked]] Hartman was also an artist who worked with rock groups. He designed the logo for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as album covers for Music/{{America}}, Poco, and Creator/TheFiresignTheatre.
* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: [[invoked]] He played many {{Jerkass}}es characters (often for laughs), but was one of the gentlest souls around, which makes his sudden murder even more tragic.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[invoked]]
** He was going to play Zapp Brannigan on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', but died before working on it. As mentioned above, Groening gave Fry the first name "Phillip" in honor of Hartman, and Creator/BillyWest based his portrayal of Brannigan on Hartman's mannerisms.
** He was supposed to provide the voice of [[DiscoDan Disco Stu]] in the Simpsons episode "Two Bad Neighbors", but when the animators needed to do a model change, Hartman was unavailable, so Creator/HankAzaria took the part.
** He wanted to do a live-action film about Troy [=McClure=], and while it never got beyond enthusiasm, many of the ''Simpsons''' creative staff admitted it would have been fun to do.
** He had wanted to re-create his Groundlings character, Chick Hazard, a private eye, both on SNL and on film, but it never got very far.
** [[https://sb2tlopg.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/interview-with-dean-goss/ He nearly became the announcer/sidekick]] for the second season of ''[[Series/LetsMakeADeal The All-New Let's Make A Deal]]'', but [[Series/HighRollers Dean Goss]] got the gig instead, as Goss was being considered by Monty Hall to be his replacement, only for syndicator Telepictures to cancel it instead, fearing not being able to sell the show without Hall.

Phil Hartman (September 24, 1948 -- May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born comedian and actor famous for starring on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' from 1986 to 1994, [[note]]considered by many to be the show's second GoldenAge after fumbling around blindly in utter mediocrity from 1980 with Jean Doumanian's cast to nearly getting canceled in 1985 with LorneMichaels' return featuring a disjointed cast of semi-famous people and bizarre writing from writers who didn't know how to work with the cast on making them funny as a unit[[/note]] for his guest appearances on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as incompetent attorney Lionel Hutz (who has a law office at the local mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm") and washed-up B-movie actor Troy [=McClure=], and for starring as Bill [=McNeal=] on the sitcom ''Series/NewsRadio''.

* ''{{Film/Houseguest}}'' (1995)

!!Tropes applying to Phil Hartman:

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Has gained greater esteem due to the horrific nature of his death.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Was universally beloved by people who worked with him, especially due to his quietly friendly nature.

'''Phil Hartman''' (September 24, 1948 -- May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born comedian and actor famous for starring on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' from 1986 to 1994, [[note]]considered by many to be the show's second GoldenAge after fumbling around blindly in utter mediocrity from 1980 with Jean Doumanian's cast to nearly getting canceled in 1985 with LorneMichaels' return featuring a disjointed cast of semi-famous people and bizarre writing from writers who didn't know how to work with the cast on making them funny as a unit[[/note]] for his guest appearances on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as incompetent attorney Lionel Hutz (who has a law office at the local mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm") and washed-up B-movie actor Troy [=McClure=], and for starring as Bill [=McNeal=] on the sitcom ''Series/NewsRadio''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He was going to play Zapp Brannigan on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', but died before working on it. As mentioned above, Groening gave Fry the first name "Phillip" in honor of Hartman, and Creator/BillyWest based his portrayal of Brannigan on Hartman's mannerisms.
** He was supposed to provide the voice of [[DiscoDan Disco Stu]] in the Simpsons episode "Two Bad Neighbors", but when the animators needed to do a model change, Hartman was unavailable, so Creator/HankAzaria took the part.
** He wanted to do a live-action film about Troy [=McClure=], and while it never got beyond enthusiasm, many of the ''Simpsons''' creative staff admitted it would have been fun to do.
** This happened a lot with Hartman. He had wanted to re-create his Groundlings character, Chick Hazard, a private eye, both on SNL and on film, but it never got very far.
** [[https://sb2tlopg.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/interview-with-dean-goss/ He nearly became the announcer/sidekick]] for the second season of ''[[Series/LetsMakeADeal The All-New Let's Make A Deal]]'', but [[Series/HighRollers Dean Goss]] got the gig instead. Imagine, in another world, Phil Hartman might've been the host of ''LMAD'' (as Goss was being considered by Monty Hall to be his replacement, only for syndicator Telepictures to cancel it instead, fearing not being able to sell the show without Hall).