Phil Hartman, we still miss you.

[mobo85]

Ten years ago today a great actor was cruelly taken from us. His characters live on to this day...

"Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such movies as 'Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die' and 'Gladys The Groovy Mule.'"

"I've argued in front of every court in this state- often as a lawyer!"

"Rocket Fuel Malt Liquor...DAMN!"

"Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."

This list is endless...but it ended too soon.

[Bosstone]

Has it been ten years already? Wow. :(

[MikeG]

Ugh, I feel old now.

[MsWhatsit]

I still can't believe he isn't around anymore. What a great talent, cut short.

[Hal Briston]

Holy crap...if you'd asked me, I'd have guessed it to be four, maybe five years ago. Then I'd have thought a little harder and revised my guess to seven or eight.

Either way, what a fricking waste.

[Cisco]

I'm gonna break the other way, actually. I would've guessed he died in 1996. Regardless, I had just "discovered" him a year or two before his death and he was my favorite funnyman at the time. Truly a great loss.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

I Netflixed all five seasons of Newsradio this winter. Great, great stuff.

[Darryl Lict]

Unfrozen caveman lawyer! I miss you Phil!

He was a graphic artist and designed Crosby, Stills and Nash's logo. That guy had a lot of talent.

[Marley23]

I still remember hearing about this. I was a novice Simpsons fan at the time and probably hadn't seen too much of his SNL stuff, but over time Hartman has become one of those few comedians I really wish were still around, and he stands out as one of the most versatile and consistently funny performers I've seen. It's hard to overstate how much he contributed to the early years of the Simpsons - the writers relied on him really heavily because they really believed he made everything funnier. None of Troy's stuff has aged at all, at least as far as I can tell. The movie titles are still among the most quotable things in the history of the show ten years later, and his performance as that ultimate self-important ham is just untouchable. Make a list of your favorite few Simpsons lines or moments and it's a lead-pipe cinch Troy - or Lionel Hutz, or Lyle Lanley - is on there at least once. [Unless you're a much younger fan, it's pretty hard not to include either the Dr. Zaius song or the Monorail song on the list, just for starters.]

I think my favorite Hartman role on SNL was Frank Sinatra, but any serious attempt at finding a favorite sketch would probably take ages. Who else could have done all this stuff?

[NicePete]

RIP Phil -- still miss you.

Don't forget, he was the original Captain Carl on PeeWee's Playhouse.

[KGS]

Don't forget Lyle Langley: "I've sold monorails to Brockaway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook, and by gum it put them on the map!"

Or when Lionel Hutz became a real estate agent: "Cubicles are for closers, Marge!"

Or the episode when Troy McClure (star of such educational filmstrips as "Mommy, What's Wrong With That Man's Face" and "Here Comes the Metric System!") turned out to have a perverted sexual attraction to fish.

It really struck home the first time the Simpsons did a filmstrip after Hartman's death and had to use a generic narrator instead of Troy McClure. Such a shame. :(

[Marley23]

Oh: and while I'm probably in a distinct minority, I think Hartman did a better impression of Bill Clinton than Darrell Hammond.

[aldiboronti]

Don't forget Lyle Lanley.

Lanley: Wondering if your dolly can ride the Monorail for free?.
Lisa: Hardly. I’d like you to explain why we should build a mass-transit system in a small town with a centralised population.
Lanley: Ha ha…young lady, that’s the most intelligent question I’ve ever been asked.
Lisa: Really?
Lanley: Oh, I could give you an answer, but the only ones who would understand it would be you and me…and that includes your teacher.
Lisa: <giggles>
Lanley: Next question…You there, eating the paste

Hartman was interested in doing a live-action movie of Troy McClure, according to Wikipedia. Now that would have been something!

KGS beat me to Lyle!

[mobo85]

The character of Zapp Brannigan on Futurama was originally written for Hartman. Billy West did a wonderful job mixing Hartman and William Shatner on the series.

[Ike Witt]

What kind of universe do we live in where Phil Hartman is dead and Andy Dick still lives?

[NDP]

It really struck home the first time the Simpsons did a filmstrip after Hartman's death and had to use a generic narrator instead of Troy McClure. Such a shame. :(

Same here. I think it was the episode where Marge has a road rage incident and has to go to traffic class where she watches a movie on the subject. When the scene with the movie started, I automatically thought, "Now this is where Troy McClure usually comes in and introduces himself as 'the star of such traffic safety films as The Decapitation of Larry Leadfoot and Alice's Adventures Through the Windshield Glass' or something like that." Of course, he didn't and the scene felt noticeably empty as a result. :(

[Marley23]

That happened to me many years later, for some reason. It was the home video [they don't seem to do filmstrips anymore] where Gary Busey gives Bart a lecture about restraining orders. Busey rides into the video on a motorcycle and he's wearing a helmet, so you can't tell who it is, and it must've reminded me of Hartman's role as Tom in Brother from the Same Planet. So I really expected Troy for a minute there, and it was only when Busey took the bike helmet off that I remembered why that wasn't going to happen.

[KneadToKnow]

"Smoke Yourself Thin" ... I was actually on that diet for a little while.

[Ensign Edison]

What kind of universe do we live in where Phil Hartman is dead and Andy Dick still lives?

It must be the same one I woke up in a few years back where Kurt Cobain was long dead and Green Day was the most popular rock band in the world.

Phil Hartman was very talented, and I miss him too. I still wonder about him. Some performers -- Hugh Laurie comes to mind -- are good because their complex inner life is apparent in whatever they do. But Phil was a mystery. I had no sense of the real man under the roles at all, which in a way made him more compelling, because just when there would be some flicker of his real face, it would transform into another disguise.

[Zebra]

What films of the last ten years would have been better with Phil Hartman?

[Ensign Edison]

This Apatow thing we've been doing lately would have fit him like a glove.

[Marley23]

What kind of universe do we live in where Phil Hartman is dead and Andy Dick still lives?
"It's a madhouse! A madhouse!"

[Troy McClure SF]

Who?

[BrainGlutton]

He was far and away the most memorable cast member on Newsradio.

[mobo85]

Or the episode when Troy McClure (star of such educational filmstrips as "Mommy, What's Wrong With That Man's Face" and "Here Comes the Metric System!") turned out to have a perverted sexual attraction to fish.

"I thought you said Troy McClure was dead."
"No, I said he sleeps with the fishes!"

[mobo85]

"Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember from..."

-Such television movies as Cry Yuma and Here Comes The Coast Guard. (7F13, "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment")
-Such films as The Revenge of Abe Lincoln and The Wackiest Covered Wagon in the West. (8F03, "Bart the Murderer")
-Such TV series as Buck Henderson, Union Buster and Troy and Company's Summertime Smile Factory. (8F07, "Saturdays of Thunder")
-Such movies as Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die and Gladys the Groovy Mule. (8F14, "Homer Alone")
-Such educational films as Lead Paint: Delicious But Deadly and Here Comes the Metric System! (8F22, "Bart's Friend Falls in Love")
-Such instructional videos as Mothballing Your Battleship and Dig Your Own Grave and Save! (9F05, "Marge Gets A Job")
-Such films as The Erotic Adventures of Hercules and Dial M For Murderousness. (9F07, "Mr. Plow")
-Such Driver's Ed films as Alice's Adventures through the Windshield Glass and The Decapitation of Larry Leadfoot. (9F14, "Duffless")
-Such films as P is for Psycho and The President's Neck is Missing. (9F20, "Marge in Chains")
-Such telethons as "Out with Gout '88" and "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House." (1F03, "Marge on the Lam")
-Such self-help videos as Smoke Yourself Thin and Get Confident, Stupid. (1F05, "Bart's Inner Child")
-Such films as The Boatjacking of Super-Ship '79 and Hydro, The Man with the Hydraulic Arms. (1F21, "Lady Bouvier's Lover")
-Such educational films as Two Minus Three Equals Negative Fun! and Firecrackers: The Silent Killer. (3F03, "Lisa the Vegetarian")
-Such Fox Network specials as Alien Nose Job and Five Fabulous Weeks of "The Chevy Chase Show." (3F31, "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular")
-Such public service videos as Designated Drivers: The Life-Saving Nerds and Phony Tornado Alarms Reduce Readiness. (3F07, "Marge Be Not Proud")
-Such show-business funerals as "Andre the Giant, We Hardly Knew Ye" and "Shemp Howard, Today We Mourn a Stooge." (3F12, "Bart the Fink")
-Such films as The Greatest Story Ever Hula-ed and They Came to Burgle Carnegie Hall. (3F15, "A Fish Called Selma")
-Such cartoons as Christmas Ape and Christmas Ape Goes To Summer Camp. (4F12, "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show")
-Such medical films as Alice Doesn't Live Anymore and Mommy, What's Wrong With That Man's Face? (4F24, "Lisa the Simpson")
-Such automated information kiosks as "Welcome to Springfield Airport" and "Where's Nordstrom?" (5F13, "This Little Wiggy")
-Such nature films as Earwigs- Eeeew! and Man vs. Nature: The Road to Victory. (5F22, "Bart the Mother")

Compiled using The Simpsons Archive (http://www.snpp.com[/url) and The Simpsons Forever!, Scott M. Gimple, editor (©1999 Matt Groening Productions).

[Bryan Ekers]

Don't forget such filmstrips as Locker Room Towel Fight: The Blinding of Larry Driscoll (3F15, "A Fish Called Selma")

[Leaper]

SNL still uses his voiceovers for "The Continental" sketches. It's always a little sad to hear.

[mobo85]

Don't forget such filmstrips as Locker Room Towel Fight: The Blinding of Larry Driscoll (3F15, "A Fish Called Selma")

Yes, I was only giving ones Troy himself pointed out. But 3F15 is a good overview of his career, which includes:

The Muppets Go Medieval
Meet Joe Blow
Give My Remains To Broadway
The Verdict Was Mail Fraud
Leper in the Backfield
Make-Out King of Montana
The Electric Gigalo
Stop The Planet of the Apes, I Want To Get Off!
The Confabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel

[Surbey]

I just rewatched News Radio and it makes me so sad that he isn't here anymore. Absolutely wonderful.

[Larry Borgia]

--Mr. Hutz, this verdict is written on a cocktail napkin! And it still says guilty! And guilty is spelled wrong! And you're not wearing any pants!

--eep.

[fusoya]

Phil Hartman is the one celebrity death that REALLY hit me hard. Mainly because he was the one guy who NOBODY expected to die, and at the time, I was totally friggin obsessed with The Simpsons and Lionel Hutz was one of my favorite characters. When my brother first ran into my office to give the news, the first thought that went through my head was "you've got to be kidding" followed by "of all the people to fuck around with, why would he choose Phil Hartman? That's fucked up!"

I imagine many people went through the same thing with John Ritter, who at least died of a natural cause....

[cochrane]

The character of Zapp Brannigan on Futurama was originally written for Hartman. Billy West did a wonderful job mixing Hartman and William Shatner on the series.
Fry was also given the first name of Phil in Hartman's honor.

[cactus waltz]

Mommy, What's Wrong With That Man's Face?

Man, I love that one.

[Smid]

Miguel Sanchez still lives on in my work, where its a byword for "this was a botch job, I'm not putting my name to it".

[PharmBoy]

I Netflixed all five seasons of Newsradio this winter. Great, great stuff.

That show was really under-rated. I caught a few episodes on Youtube awhile ago and was laughing out loud. What carried it, of course was Phil Hartman, but he was surrounded by a good cast too.

[Annie-Xmas]

I really, really miss Phil. OH, YEAH!

I so wanted to see the second half of that 3rd Rock cliff hanger :mad:

[mobo85]

Correction to Post 26: after 4F12, please add:

-Such spinoffs as Son of Sanford and Son[I] and [I]After Mannix. (4F20, "The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase")

[interface2x]

You may also remember him from such dates as last night's dinner.

[mobo85]

You may also remember him from such dates as last night's dinner.

Selma Bouvier will always remember him...but not from his films.

[Sigmagirl]

I was clearing page proofs the night his obituary was going to press -- this was when we still had hard copy proofs, before it was all digital. I went up to the composing room and saw his obit at the top of the page, and at the bottom there was a big ad from a local travel shop featuring Hartmann luggage. Terrible coincidence.

So I talked to the composing room foreman to see if we could get the ad moved. He didn't see it as a big deal, and I agreed -- really, it wasn't as bad as an obit of somebody who died in a ski accident running on the page with a ski shop ad -- but I thought it would be more sensitive of us to move it. He said he'd talk to the metro editor, but I guess that didn't have any effect, because the ad ran where it was. I don't think anybody noticed but me; certainly we didn't get any fallout. Maybe I just pick up on that kind of stuff.

[Bi-Polar Guy]

I remember when I was in 5th grade and I heard that Freddy Prinze had killed himself. I was torn up for weeks, because he was (at the time) my absolute favorite comedian, and I couldn't think of anything else in the world that could be better than being funny and being able to make people laugh.
I felt even more torn up when I heard about Phil Hartman. Again we lost another comic genius that had the talent and ability to cause laughter as easily as raising his eyebrows.
I never missed News Radio, not ever, (reruns, if not the actual new show for the week) because Bill would always be up to something-- something that only Phil could make seem both reasonable and completely insane at the same time . He walked the ledge sometimes, Phil did, but never fell off.
I have watched The Simpsons slowly go down the toilet overall, but if any of the shows had one of Phil's characters in it, I knew that character was going to be funny (even if the rest of the show bit).
He was a master of timing and dialoge. I can't remember how many times on News Radio when all he had to do was look at someone or make a face, and everything that needed to be said had just been said without a word being spoken.

God must still be holding his stomach and laughing since Phil got there.
Thanks for letting us borrow such a wonderful and talented person, but I wish you had let him stay here with us a bit longer.

"Only the good die young"

[Bosstone]

But Phil was a mystery. I had no sense of the real man under the roles at all, which in a way made him more compelling, because just when there would be some flicker of his real face, it would transform into another disguise.He did a skit about this on SNL, where he had a breakdown on stage because even he had forgotten which persona was the real Phil Hartman. It was a joke and played for laughs, of course, but damn if it doesn't sound depressing in hindsight.

[Marley23]

I don't remember that one. Are you sure you're not thinking of the opening song during one of Steve Martin's episodes? Phil sings a short verse about not hiding behind wigs and makeup anymore and letting his real persona shine through during the show - but Martin says he doesn't think it's a good idea and Hartman happily says "Okay!" and instantly forgets about it.

[Madd Maxx]

What films of the last ten years would have been better with Phil Hartman?

All of them.

[Marley23]

All of them.
Sir, I'm now imagining Troy McClure in Batman Begins, Titanic, Star Wars Episode I and American Beauty, and I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.

[Bosstone]

I don't remember that one. Are you sure you're not thinking of the opening song during one of Steve Martin's episodes?Nope. (http://snltranscripts.jt.org/95/95pmono.phtml)

[KneadToKnow]

Sir, I'm now imagining Troy McClure in Batman Begins, Titanic, Star Wars Episode I and American Beauty, and I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.
Hi, I'm Lester Burnham! And I'm already dead!

[Madd Maxx]

Sir, I'm now imagining Troy McClure in Batman Begins, Titanic, Star Wars Episode I and American Beauty, and I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.

Hell, he might have made Jar-Jar Binks tolerable.

OK, well maybe not.

[teela brown]

I vividly remember our office manager at the time coming into the office somewhat hysterical and telling us she had just heard on the radio that Phil Hartman had been found shot to death, possibly by his wife. We thought she was making up some elaborate hoax because it sounded too bizarre to believe. Unfortunately, she was right.

I miss him, too. I remember he did an uncanny Jack Benny impersonation.

[cactus waltz]

I'm sorry if this is unpropriate, but what were the events leading up to his murder?

[Annie-Xmas]

Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Hartman#Personal_life) has a good summary. Basically, his wife flipped out, shot him to death, and later committed suicide. Quite a shock!

[Don't Call Me Shirley]

"You see these Chicken Mcnuggets here? Warlord! And the Filet-O-Fish over there? Warlord!"

"There are going to be a lot of things we don't tell Mrs. Clinton about!"

:(