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Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman

Birthday: 1948-09-24 | Place of Birth: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman  (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family immigrated to the United States when he was ten. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands like Poco and America. Feeling the need for a more creative outlet, Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped comedian Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Hartman became well-known 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 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 (née 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". Description above from the Wikipedia article Phil Hartman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1998
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night

as    Chauncey (voice)

1998
Small Soldiers

as    Phil Fimple

1997
The Second Civil War

as    The President

1996
Sgt. Bilko

as    Major Colin Thorn

1996
Jingle All the Way

as    Ted Maltin

1995
Houseguest

as    Gary Young

1994
Greedy

as    Frank

1994
The Crazysitter

as    The Salesman

1993
Coneheads

as    Marlax

1993
So I Married an Axe Murderer

as    Ranger John 'Vicky' Johnson

1993
CB4

as    Virgil Robinson

1990
Tom & Jerry Kids Show

as    Calaboose Cal (voice)

1990
Quick Change

as    Hal Edison

1987
The Brave Little Toaster

as    Air Conditioner / Hanging Lamp (voice)

1985
Dennis the Menace

as    George Wilson

1982
Pandemonium

as    Reporter

1981
The Pee-wee Herman Show

as    Kap'n Karl

1980
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie

as    Chick Hazard

1978
Stunt Rock

as    Monique’s Assistant