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8[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/philhartman_5.png]]
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10->''"I benefit from the Mr. Potato Head syndrome. Put a wig and a nose and glasses on me, and I disappear."''
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12Philip Edward 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 to be the show's second Golden Age[[/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''. He was the most prolific guest star on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' ever.
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14Hartman 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, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, Barbara Bush, and UsefulNotes/BillClinton (years before Creator/DarrellHammond 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 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-retentive 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.
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16Hartman 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 Phil continuously tried to help her break into acting. On May 27, 1998, their marriage reached a breaking point: Phil and Brynn entered a heated argument over her drug addiction, with Phil threatening to leave her (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.
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18The 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/BillyWest took over as the voice of Zapp Brannigan ([[TheOtherMarty who was supposed to be voiced by Hartman]]). ''Series/NewsRadio'' pressed on one more season (having his character KilledOffscreen by a coronary), this time with his friend Creator/JonLovitz, before being cancelled, because as his castmates put it, "Phil would've wanted us to." Hartman's loss remains deeply felt more than twenty years after his death, with many of his former castmates speaking fondly of him on a regular basis. May he rest in peace.
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20!![[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons You might remember him from such films as...]]
21* ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' (1985)
22* ''Film/ThreeAmigos'' (1986)
23* ''Film/BlindDate'' (1987)
24* ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' (1987)
25* ''Film/{{Coneheads}}'' (1993)
26* ''Film/SoIMarriedAnAxeMurderer'' (1993)
27* ''Film/{{Houseguest}}'' (1995)
28* ''[[Series/ThePhilSilversShow Sgt. Bilko]]'' (1996)
29* ''Film/JingleAllTheWay'' (1996)
30* ''Film/SmallSoldiers'' (1998) - Posthumously released, dedicated to Hartman.
31* ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' (1998) - Also dedicated to Hartman.
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33
34!!Phil Hartman provides examples of:
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36%% As with all Creator/ pages, trivia tropes about the creator specifically are to be posted here,
37%% not a Trivia/ page, as they technically are InUniverse in the case of the person's career.
38%% However: As with all Creator/ pages, items that could go on a specific work's trivia page go there, not here.
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40* TheAnnouncer: On ''Series/ThePopNRockerGame'' in 1983-84, a rock themed game show hosted by [[Music/ShaNaNa Jon Bauman]]. Phil supposedly auditioned to take over for Johnny Olson on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' as well, and for season 2 of the mid-1980s run of ''Series/LetsMakeADeal'' (losing the latter gig to Dean Goss).
41* CharacterOutlivesActor: Hartman's two long-running ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' characters Troy [=McClure=] and Lionel Hutz lived on despite his death, albeit [[DemotedToExtra relegated to silent cameos]] and comic book appearances. His ''Series/NewsRadio'' character Bill [=McNeal=] [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim did die of an off-screen heart attack, however.]]
42* TheComicallySerious: Hartman was famous for his ability to say the most ridiculous things with a straight face and never crack.
43* TheDanza: [[invoked]] As Phil Fimple in ''Film/SmallSoldiers''.
44* EarlyBirdCameo: On the season 11 episode of ''SNL'' hosted by Creator/PaulReubens (as his manchild character Pee-Wee Herman), Hartman played one of the Pilgrims in the "Pee-Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special" sketch. A year later, when Lorne was trying to fix ''SNL'' after the network threatened to cancel the show due to low ratings and bad reviews, Hartman became one of the new cast members hired.
45* FakeAmerican: Almost all the characters he played were American; he was Canadian by birth.
46* HeAlsoDid: Hartman majored in graphic design in college and was also an artist who worked with rock groups. He designed the logo for Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung, as well as album covers for Music/{{America}}, Poco, and Creator/TheFiresignTheatre.
47* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He was a master at playing complete idiots with extremely misplaced confidence in their intellect and abilities.
48* LargeHam: He could rival fellow Canadian Creator/WilliamShatner for theatricality.
49* PerpetualSmiler: His characters almost always had a confident grin, no matter how bad things were for them.
50* ThePollyanna: No matter how bad things get, his characters almost never lost their unflappable cool or cheerful disposition.
51** According to his co-workers, this was often how Hartman behaved away from the cameras as well. He was described as perpetually cheerful.
52* SmallNameBigEgo: His trademark were characters who are extremely confident despite being complete morons, a fact which they remain cheerfully oblivious to.
53* ThoseTwoActors: He was often paired with Creator/JanHooks on SNL. Together, they played Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Donald Trump and his then-wife Ivana, along with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
54** Also was frequently paired both on SNL and in other film and TV with Creator/JonLovitz due to their real life close friendship (which Lovitz described Hartman as more than a friend, but rather like an older brother).
55* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
56** He was going to play Zapp Brannigan on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', but died before working on it. Creator/MattGroening gave Fry the first name "Phillip" in honor of Hartman, and Creator/BillyWest based his portrayal of Brannigan on Hartman's mannerisms.
57** 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.
58** 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.
59** 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.
60** [[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 Creator/MontyHall to be his replacement, only for syndicator Telepictures to cancel it instead, fearing not being able to sell the show without Hall.
61** He would have been the front man for his own video game franchise, ''VideoGame/{{Blasto}}'', but it never happened due to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasto_(video_game) the one game]] releasing a month before his death.
62** After he left SNL, he thought about hosting his own variety/sketch comedy show which would have been titled ''The Phil Show''. However, those plans were scrapped after ''Series/TheChevyChaseShow'' bombed with audiences.

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