ACTOR
Phil Hartman
56 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (56)
- #001
Although he was known for playing crude characters, Phil Hartman earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's nicest and most beloved actors; many of his co-stars and directors described him as a true professional and someone they enjoyed working with.
- #002
The character Philip J. Fry in the animated sitcom Futurama (1999) was named after Phil Hartman.
- #003
As a mark of respect, the Simpsons (1989) characters Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure were retired from the sitcom and have not been seen or mentioned since.
- #004
When Phil Hartman died on 28 May 1998, the television series NewsRadio (1995) had to write the death of news anchor Bill McNeal into its story. While the episode was being filmed, the cast and crew had to stop and start again several times because they kept bursting into tears.
- #005
Because he had helped create the character Pee-wee Herman, Phil Hartman was asked to co-write the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), and he agreed.
- #006
Before his untimely death, Phil Hartman appeared in 53 episodes of The Simpsons (1989), making him by far the show's most prolific guest star.
- #007
His final appearance on Saturday Night Live (1975) included serenading Chris Farley. Both actors would die six months apart from each other.
- #008
He was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on 26 August 2014. Comedians Kevin Nealon and Jon Lovitz were the guest speakers at the ceremony.
- #009
Rehearsals for The Simpsons (1989) were canceled on the day his death was announced.
- #010
Before acting, Phil Hartman ran a graphic design business and designed more than forty album covers, including the logo for Crosby Stills & Nash.
- #011
Saturday Night Live (1975) producer Lorne Michaels considered Hartman so important to the show that he called him "The Glue."
- #012
Phil Hartman spoke fluent German. A video of him once performing a stand-up routine in German circulated on the internet.
- #013
On The Simpsons (1989) he voiced nineteen characters over nine seasons: the recurring Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz, and the former characters Moses, The Cable Guy, Plato, The Stockbroker, Horrace, Smooth Jimmy Apollo, Lyle Lanely, the Duff Gardens announcer, Security Guard 2, Mandy Patinkin, the FNL announcer, Mr. Muntz, Conover, Charlton Heston, the Review Board Committee Doctor and Bill Clinton.
- #014
In a television interview, Hartman said he believed what clinched his Saturday Night Live (1975) audition was being asked whether there was anything else he wanted to show them. He said he could do any dialect. If they could name the dialect, he could do it. Dennis Miller was watching the audition and shouted, "Do French!" Hartman's response was: "I don't do that."
- #015
Phil Hartman helped Jan Hooks overcome her stage fright on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #016
He had two children with Brynn Hartman: Sean Edward (b. 1989) and Birgen Hartman (b. 1992), who after their parents' deaths were raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, by Brynn's sister Katherine and her husband Michael Wright.
- #017
He was originally cast to voice Zapp Brannigan in the animated sitcom Futurama (1999). After his untimely death, the role went to Billy West.
- #018
In his final Saturday Night Live performance, Phil Hartman serenaded Chris Farley.
- #019
Phil Hartman was born in Canada and became a United States citizen in the early 1990s.
- #020
Before he became famous, he appeared on The Dating Game (1965) as one of three eligible bachelors. He was chosen by the bachelorette but, according to Hartman, he did not show up for their date.
- #021
Phil Hartman specialized in graphic design at California State University.
- #022
Phil Hartman did not begin acting until he was 27 years old.
- #023
According to Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons (1989), Hartman wanted to make a live-action film based on his sitcom character Troy McClure.
- #024
Before every appearance on Saturday Night Live (1975), Hartman would recite the Lord's Prayer to calm himself.
- #025
After his untimely death, Phil Hartman was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island.
- #026
Phil Hartman prepared visuals for Poco's "Legend" (1978) album. He painted the cover of the "America's Greatest Hits: History" album and was credited as "Phil Hartmann" in the liner notes; the signature "hartmann" also appears in the artwork. He designed the logo for the folk rock group Crosby Stills & Nash, and designed and drew the cover of Firesign Theatre's "The Fighting Clowns" (1980) album.
- #027
Phil Hartman auditioned for the announcer position on The Price Is Right (1972), a role that went to Rod Roddy.
- #028
Hartman had guest-starred in the cliffhanger season finale of the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and was set to appear in the new season's premiere. After his highly unexpected death, it was decided to reshoot his scenes (in the finale) with a different actor playing a different character (rebroadcast a week before the season premiere), so that it would not appear as though he had been oddly recast or disrespected.
- #029
Jonathan Winters was Phil Hartman's first comedy idol.
- #030
Phil Hartman was one of eight siblings in a Catholic family that emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1950s.
- #031
Shortly before his death, Hartman recorded a voice routine with Don Rickles for the introduction of the Tiki Room at Walt Disney World. After his untimely death, audiences were seen to be visibly shaken when they recognized his voice.
- #032
After leaving "SNL," Hartman planned to star in his own variety show titled "The Phil Show," but NBC cancelled the project.
- #033
Hartman's father, Rupert Hartmann, died on April 30, 1998 (at age 83), less than a month before Phil's tragic death.
- #034
Phil Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings, where he met Jon Lovitz and Paul Reubens (1975).
- #035
Among Phil Hartman's famous impressions were Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra, Michael Caine, Telly Savalas, Burt Reynolds, Jack Nicholson, Ronald Reagan, Barbara Bush and Phil Donahue. He was one of seven actors to portray Ronald Reagan on Saturday Night Live (1975). He died in the same month as Frank Sinatra, whom he impersonated many times on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #036
Hartman's untimely death occurred only five days after the premiere of Disney's English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) at the Seattle International Film Festival, in which he gave one of his final performances.
- #037
After Hartman's untimely death, his Jingle All the Way (1996) co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger paid tribute to him, saying he loved working with Hartman on the film, that they had a great time off camera and laughed a lot.
- #038
Phil Hartman was close friends with fellow SNL cast member Jan Hooks.
- #039
Phil Hartman died in the same month as Frank Sinatra, whom he impersonated many times on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #040
Before his untimely death, Hartman was initially set to play the role of Zapp Brannigan in the animated sitcom Futurama (1999). The role instead went to Billy West, after whom the main character Phillip J. Fry is named.
- #041
After his death, Phil Hartman was honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, in 2012.
- #042
Phil Hartman wrote a comedy-horror screenplay titled "Mr. Fix-It." Robert Zemeckis was to produce it with Gil Bettman directing, but Zemeckis could not secure financing and the project stalled.
- #043
In the last few years of his life, Phil Hartman was asked in interviews whether he considered playing a single character on a weekly television series ("Newsradio"), even though he had previously played many different types on "Saturday Night Live" (and was often called the cast member with the most 'range'). Hartman said he felt this was a 'positive side,' and that if you keep doing a series, you can keep discovering more 'dimensions' of a character.
- #044
Phil Hartman attended Westchester High School with Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme.
- #045
The role of social worker Arthur Brooks in Big Daddy (1999) was written with Phil Hartman in mind, but he was killed before the role could be offered to him. Josh Mostel ultimately took the part.
- #046
As a regular cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live (1975), Phil Hartman worked about 65 hours a week.
- #047
Phil Hartman planned a film based on the character Chick Hazard, Private Eye, but the project fell through.
- #048
Phil Hartman was also known for his voice work in commercials and cartoons. He was probably best known for voicing Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on the animated sitcom The Simpsons (1989), and he also provided other minor voices for The Simpsons (1989). Phil left Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1994 and in 1995 was cast as the arrogant radio host Bill McNeal in the critically acclaimed NBC sitcom NewsRadio (1995).
- #049
According to one of his last interviews (and as confirmed by his friends and co-stars), as Phil Hartman approached 50 he felt he did not want to move into dramatic or serious films (or roles) and did not want to keep making 'over-the-top' comedies (such as Jingle All the Way (1996)). Sadly, his tragic death came before he had a chance to 'make that happen.'.
- #050
The last interview footage Phil Hartman gave was for a press conference held on May 4, 1998, for his then-upcoming film Small Soldiers (1998).
- #051
Phil Hartman portrayed Bill Clinton on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #052
Phil Hartman was one of seven actors who portrayed Ronald Reagan on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #053
Although Phil Hartman and comedian Sinbad appeared in three films together, the only one in which they shared scenes was Houseguest (1995). They also appeared in Coneheads (1993) and Jingle All the Way (1996), but did not share any scenes in those films.
- #054
Contrary to popular belief, Phil Hartman was not related to cartoonist Butch Hartman.
- #055
In the episode Permanent Wave - June 2, 1983 (1991) of the series, a witness sees a character named Phil Hartman being killed. He was killed with a handgun. The actor Phil Hartman was killed with a handgun in May 1998.
- #056
Phil Hartman attended Orville Wright Middle School with Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme.
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