Biography

Looking more like the CEO of a law firm than a comedian, Canadian actor Phil Hartman has had a successful career playing against his physical appearance with an off-kilter sense of humor. He entered show business as a graphics designer; among his better-known artistic renderings was the official logo for the rock group Crosby, Stills and Nash. In the early '80s, Hartman was a member of a comedy troupe called the Groundlings, where he made the acquaintance of comedian Paul Reubens. In collaboration with Reubens, Hartman helped create the character of child/man Pee-wee Herman, cowriting the screenplay of Reubens' 1985 movie vehicle Pee-wee's Big Adventure and portraying the grimy Kap'n Karl on the Saturday-morning TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986-90). When asked later on if he was bitter over the way Reubens grabbed all the glory for the Pee-wee concept, Hartman characteristically made a self-deprecating joke, though it was decidedly at Reubens' expense. Before signing with NBC's Saturday Night Live, Hartman appeared as part of a comedy ensemble on the 1985 summer replacement series Our Time. Hartman's greatest comic strength lay in his celebrity impersonations, which he trotted out to maximum effect on both SNL and the Fox cartoon series The Simpsons. Hartman claimed that he had 99 celeb voices in his manifest, including a deadly funny impersonation of President Bill Clinton, which became an audience favorite on SNL and Jay Leno's Tonight Show where he often made guest appearances. Hartman remained with Saturday Night Live from 1986 through 1994, sharing a 1989 Emmy for "outstanding writing;" at the time he left the show (making pointed comments about the deteriorated quality of the writing staff), Hartman had set a record for the largest number of appearances (153) as an SNL regular. In 1995, Phil Hartman began a weekly assignment in the role of a pompous, self-centered (much like Ted Knight's character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) anchorman on the network sitcom Newsradio. When not appearing on the series, Hartman was a successful TVcommercial voiceover artist and pitchman and also occasionally acted in feature films, including Blind Date (1987), Jingle All the Way (1996) and The Second Civil War (1997).

In his personal life, Hartman was totally unlike the characters he usually played and was loved and respected for his humbleness, his affability and his generosity; he frequently donated his time to charities. It was therefore a terrible shock when on May 28, 1998, he was shot to death while sleeping in the bedroom of his Encino, California home. His wife Brynn Hartman committed the murder and then shot herself shortly after police removed the couple's two small children from the premises. Later reports stated that despite putting on a good public face as a couple, the two had been trying for years to resolve their difficulties and that drug and alcohol use on the part of Brynn were a factor in the tragedy.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 (2000) (TV) (archive footage) .... Bill Clinton/Ronald Reagan/Jack Kemp/Ted Kennedy/Tom Foley
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself (archive footage)
Saturday Night Live Christmas (1999) (V) .... Various
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dana Carvey (1999) (TV) .... Ed McMahon/Pat Buchanan/Various
Blasto (1998) (VG) .... Captain Blasto
Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies (1998) (V) .... Himself/Dysfunctional Family Feud dad/Various
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley (1998) (TV) .... Burt Reynolds/Frankenstein/Father/Himself
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman (1998) (TV) .... Himself/Admiral Stockdale/Bill Clinton/Barbara Bush/Ronald Reagan/Andy Griffith/Gene the Anal Retentive Chef/Johnny O'Connor/XG-7000/Frank Sinatra/Norfolk/Jesus/Various
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (1998) (V) (voice) .... Additional Voices
Small Soldiers (1998) .... Phil Fimple
Simpsons: Virtual Springfield, The (1997) (VG) (voice) .... Additional Voices
Second Civil War, The (1997) (TV) .... The President
Jingle All the Way (1996) .... Ted Maltin
Sgt. Bilko (1996) .... Maj. Colin Thorn (IG Team, Armor Branch)
... aka Sergeant Bilko (1996)
"NewsRadio" (1995) TV Series .... Bill McNeal (1995-1998)
... aka "Station, The" (1995)
Crazysitter, The (1995) .... The Salesman
... aka Two Much Trouble (1995)
Kelsey Grammer Salutes Jack Benny (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Stuart Saves His Family (1995) .... Announcer
Houseguest (1995) .... Gary Young
Pagemaster, The (1994) (voice) .... Tom Morgan
Comedy Hall of Fame, The (1994) (TV) .... Himself
Greedy (1994) .... Frank
Twelve Days of Christmas, The (1993) (TV) (voice)
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) .... John 'Vicky' Johnson, Alcatraz Guide
Coneheads (1993) .... Marlax
Daybreak (1993) (TV) (uncredited) .... Man in Abstinence commercial
CB4 (1993) .... Virgil Robinson
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) .... Officer Davis, Comedy Cop
... aka National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
Alien Encounter (1995) (voice) .... SIR (1992-1996)
"Simpsons, The" (1989) TV Series (voice) .... Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, Moses, Additional Voices (1991-1998)
... aka "All New Simpsons, The" (1991) (Australia)
One Special Victory (1991) (TV) .... Mike Rutten
"Darkwing Duck" (1991) TV Series (voice) .... Paddywhack/Additional Voices
"Gravedale High" (1990) TV Series (voice)
... aka "Rick Moranis in Gravedale High" (1990) (USA: complete title)
Quick Change (1990) .... Hal Edison
"Tale Spin" (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
Majo no takkyubin (1989) (voice) .... Gigi (US version)
... aka Kiki's Delivery Service (1998) (USA)
... aka Witch's Express Mail, The (1989) (literal title)
How I Got Into College (1989) .... Bennedict, SAT Coach
Fletch Lives (1989) .... Bly Manager
"Fantastic Max" (1988) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) .... Baseball Announcer (segment "Murray in Videoland")
... aka Cheeseburger Film Sandwich (1987)
Brave Little Toaster, The (1987) (voice) .... Air Conditioner/Hanging Lamp
Blind Date (1987) .... Ted Davis
... aka Blake Edwards' Blind Date (1987) (USA: complete title)
"Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986) TV Series .... Captain Carl (1986-1987)
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1986-1994)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (1975) (USA)
... aka "SNL 25" (2000) (USA: new title)
... aka "SNL" (1975)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 80" (1980) (USA: new title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (1975)
¡Three Amigos! (1986) (as Philip E. Hartman) .... Sam
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) (as Phil E. Hartmann) .... Fred
"Dennis the Menace" (1986) TV Series (voice) .... Henry Mitchell/George Wilson/Ruff
Last Resort (1986) .... Jean-Michel
... aka She Knew No Other Way (1986)
"13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, The" (1985) TV Series (voice)
"Our Time" (1985) TV Series .... Himself
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) .... Reporter
Weekend Pass (1984) .... Joe Chicago
"Challenge of the GoBots" (1984) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
Pandemonium (1982) .... Reporter
Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother (1981) (TV) .... Henry/Ruff
Pee-wee Herman Show, The (1981) (TV) .... Kap'n Karl
"Smurfs, The" (1981) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
... aka "Smurfs' Adventures" (1981)
"Six O'Clock Follies, The" (1980) TV Series
Skateboard Madness (1980) .... Narrator
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980) .... Actor in a movie being filmed in the backround.
... aka High Encounters of the Ultimate Kind (1980)
Gong Show Movie, The (1980)
"Scooby and Scrappy-Doo" (1979) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices