A thread for Phil Hartman

http://www.avclub.com/article/maura-tierney-affair-newsradio-and-being-fired-gro-210942

AVC: Do you have a definitive Phil Hartman story?

MT: Um. [Long pause.] I don’t know. I do remember one thing he said to me. Joe Rogan was being so fucking mean to me one day—and mostly we were all friends, but Joe could be a weirdo—and I was sort of upset about it, so I was just sitting over in the corner. And Phil came over and put his arm around me, and he said, “You know, I just want to tell you you’re loved.” Isn’t that really nice? I know you expected me to tell some wacky story about Phil, but he was like that, too. He just put his arm around me and said that. He was so sweet. He was a really nice man.

:)

20 years ago today.

Didn't remember him doing Trump (and Jan Hooks as Ivana) on SNL...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1gC912LUq0

Also: Somebody uploaded a mastercut of the Max Jerome ads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jlvK3Uc7e4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BdwxUXRbTk

Would have been 75 today...

Joe Rogan was being so fucking mean to me one day—and mostly we were all friends, but Joe could be a weirdo

Nice to know he was always like this.

Yeah, looking again at Newsradio in recent years and it's pretty much all there already, except his character is generally regarded by the show as an idiot and tool.

Wasnt he an afterthought/change of actor anyway? ISTR the pilot had anoter guy.

Sort of. They originally cast Ray Romano as the handyman/tech guy, but he was dismissed before the pilot was filmed, and was replaced by an actor named Greg Lee, who was then replaced by Rogan when the series was picked up. Lee's character was a little different from Rogan's, which was probably tailored to his existing style (Rogan had already been doing standup and had other similar TV roles)

IIRC Rogan's character is depicted and constantly called out as a paranoid nut who's into crazy conspiracies. Anyway, that show has one of the craziest casts - it's pretty cool how they were able to tap into the best-known ensembles from that era due to the connections each actor had with either SNL, Kids in the Hall, the Ben Stiller Show, etc. with all of their other alum doing good guest turns, but so many of the main cast had these ridiculous fates. I guess everyone knew Andy Dick was a nutty creep, but Hartman getting murdered, Foley's horrendous divorce and Rogan's rise to fame, influence and billions of dollars....who would've guessed.

connections each actor had with either SNL, Kids in the Hall, the Ben Stiller Show

^all those fall under SNL either by SNL itself or Broadway Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjNP3tiE6N8

Here's something really amazing from Tom Snyder's show from the night after...an excerpt from an earlier interview wherein Hartman explains how easily impressions came to him by demonstrating how he, John Wayne, Jack Benny, and Jack Nicholson have the same voice projected from different places (clip at 2:50)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciDcWCDXxas

The whole original interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thBO3PG5GPQ

xpost They also had a lot of the Mr. Show cast on, though that’s another SNL connection obv

^^Was just thinking thinking of that ep with Odenkirk, Posehn and Cross as Dave's college Acapella group.

Oh my god, I completely forgot about the thing where Bill McNeal was Mark Russell in the elevator....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FvW66hEjyo

Bonus Early Lauren Graham Action!

The Dana Carvey & David Spade "Fly On The Wall" pod just dropped two episodes (around 5 hours total) recorded live at The Groundlings' Tribute To Phil.

^^Panel Discussion w/the hosts, Kevin Nealon, Julia Sweeney, and Jim Downey.

Thanks!!!

He was a really nice man.

Not many SNL cast members you could say that about.

Here's those SNL Change Bank ads with Downey they go on at length about. Hartman's in the second one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXDxNCzUspM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KodqIPMbyUg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0w2R2JvZ7U

"She gave me several options"

Here's that hostage sketch Downey was enthusing about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8PLGXHW5gY

and the follow-up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ZyffcKxu0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEtrT3E4vb8