Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman was born Philip Edward Hartmann on September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. His surname was originally "Hartmann", but he later dropped the second "n". He was one of eight children of Doris Marguerite (Wardell) and Rupert Loebig Hartmann, a salesman. He was of German, Irish, and English descent. The family moved to the United States when Phil was around ten, and he spent the majority of his childhood in Connecticut and Southern California.

Was one of eight siblings born into a Catholic family that migrated to the United States from Canada in the 1950s.

Before he became famous, appeared on The Dating Game (1965) as one of the three competing eligible bachelors. He was chosen by the bachelorette but, according to Hartman, she did not show up for their date.

Auditioned for the announcer position on The Price Is Right (1972), which went to Rod Roddy.

In 1975, alongside doing album work, Phil joined the California comedy troupe, The Groundlings. While in The Groundlings, Phil worked with Paul Reubens and Jon Lovitz, who became good friends of his until his death.

He held Saturday Night Live (1975) together during his 8-year reign, thus the nickname he garnered while on the show, "The Glue. " Phil was also known for his voice work on commercials and cartoons.

Phil left Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1994, and in 1995, was cast in the critically acclaimed NBC show NewsRadio (1995) as arrogant radio show host Bill McNeal.

Created artwork for Poco's 1978 album "Legend". Painted the cover for the album "America's Greatest Hits: History". He was credited as "Phil Hartmann". The signature "hartmann" is also on the artwork. Designed logo for the folk rock band Crosby Stills & Nash. Designed and drew the cover to the Firesign Theatre's 1980 album "The Fighting Clowns".

Because he helped create the character Pee-Wee Herman, Phil was asked to co-write Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) and he accepted.

Phil and Paul created the character Pee Wee Herman together, and Phil even had a role on Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) as pirate Captin' Carl.

In 1986, Phil joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) and was on the show for a record of 8 seasons (which was later broken by Tim Meadows). Phil played a wide range of characters including: Frank Sinatra, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Ed McMahon, Barbara Bush, and many others. He was known to help out other writers who wanted to get their sketches read and onto the show.

Had two children with Brynn Hartman: Sean Edward (b. 1987) and Birgen Hartman (b. 1992), who were raised by Brynn's sister Katherine and her husband Michael Wright in Eau Claire, Wisconsin after the deaths of their parents.

1988) and Birgen (b.

He was probably most well known for the voices of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on the animated comedy The Simpsons (1989).

He also provided other minor voices for The Simpsons (1989).

His last role was the English language dub of Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), as the quick-witted cat Jiji, which featured Small Soldiers co-star Kirsten Dunst in the lead voice role.

He later obtained his American citizenship in the early 1990s. He often would visit his homeland of Canada throughout his career, and the City of Brantford even erected a plaque on the Walk of Fame in the town in honor of Phil's career and memory. The Humber College Comedy: Writing & Performance program in Toronto, Ontario, also has an award in Phil's memory that is given out to their Post-Graduate comedy students. Phil originally studied Graphic Design at California State University. He began to work part time as a graphic artist, designing album covers for such bands as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (see Crosby Stills Nash & Young) and Poco.

1992).

After Phil's death, Phil's good friend Jon Lovitz attempted to fill the void as Max Lewis on NewsRadio (1995), but the struggling show's ratings dropped, and the show later fizzled out and ended in 1999. Phil had an interesting career in movies, mostly playing supporting characters.

He was the lead in Houseguest (1995) and was also in Greedy (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996), Sgt.

Bilko (1996), and his last live action film, Small Soldiers (1998).

On May 28th, 1998, Phil was shot to death while sleeping in his Encino, California home by his wife, Brynn Hartman. Brynn left the house and later came back with a friend to show him Phil's body. When her friend went to call 911, Brynn locked herself in the bedroom with Phil's lifeless body and shot herself. It was later discovered by the coroner that Brynn had alcohol, cocaine, and the antidepressant, Zoloft, in her system. They left behind two children, Sean Edward (b.

Was originally chosen to do the voice of Zapp Brannigan on the animated series Futurama (1999). After his death, the role went to Billy West.

Posthumously received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario in 2012.

Posthumously received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 26, 2014.