Actors - Phil Hartman

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	Actors - Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American graphic artist, writer, actor and comedian.

Life

Philip Edward Hartmann was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to Rupert and Doris Hartmann; the family was of German Catholic descent.

Hartman's family migrated to the United States in the 1950s, and Hartman attended Westchester High School and Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles, California, becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in the early 1990s.

The exact timing of his switch from "Hartmann" to "Hartman" is unknown, but all of his acting credits after 1986 were billed under the surname "Hartman".

Hartman and his wife Brynn had two children, Sean Edward Hartman (born 1989) and Birgen Hartman (born 1992).

Early career

Looking for what he described as "a psychological release valve", he joined the California-based comedy group The Groundlings in 1975. Hartman met comedian Paul Reubens while working with the group and the two became friends, often writing and working on material together.

One such collaboration was the character of Pee-wee Herman and the script of the feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure
. Hartman also met Jon Lovitz while with The Groundlings.

Hartman worked part time as a graphic artist, including designing album covers for popular rock bands. Hartman's covers include:

Poco's 1978 album Legend ()
Firesign Theatre's 1980 album Fighting Clowns ()
Three album covers for the band America
*History: Greatest Hits in 1975 ()
*Harbor in 1977 ()
*Silent Letter in 1979 ().

Hartman also designed the logo for the band Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Television career

In 1986, Hartman joined the cast of NBC's popular variety show Saturday Night Live
and stayed for eight seasons, which was a record at the time. Hartman was known for his impressions, which included Ronald Reagan, Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, Telly Savalas, Ed McMahon, Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson, Barbara Bush, Burt Reynolds, Phil Donahue, and former president Bill Clinton, which was perhaps his best-known impression. His other Saturday Night Live characters included Frankenstein and Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer. He returned twice to host the show following his 1994 departure and was honored at the show's 25th anniversary special in 1999 by the members of the cast who had started their careers on the show the same year: Jan Hooks, Mike Myers, Nora Dunn, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon, Jon Lovitz, and Victoria Jackson.

Also in 1986, Hartman was chosen to play the role of Captain Carl, one of Pee-Wee Herman's close friends and famed sea captain in the first season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse.

From 1991 to 1998, Hartman also provided the voices for a number of characters on the popular animated series, The Simpsons, including dubious attorney Lionel Hutz and B-movie actor Troy McClure; Hartman expressed interest in making a live action version of this character, but the film was never made. In the episode "Selma's Choice", he lent his voice to three different characters, one of which being the aforementioned Hutz.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Phil Hartman ]

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Actors - Phil Hartman

Life

Early career

Television career

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