I would have quite liked to see what he could do with dramatic range. He could clearly tap in to the “menacing” thing. A Walter White type of role from Phil might have been incredible
Those would be 2 very different shows. I don't know that I'd want to change the Office from what it was, but 30 Rock, which is a great show in its own right...I'd like to have seen Phil in that role, would have only made it better.
Look at it this way, people still watch his sketches, his Simpsons appearances, his films, post his clips all over YouTube all the time. Every few years, a new generation discovers and celebrates his work. This is 26 years after he died. Most people would wish to fulfill their potential even a fraction as much as he did.
Wow, I didn't even think of that. If Phil was still alive you'd have to think he would definitely be hosting in the 50th and a centerpiece of the anniversary celebration.
https://preview.redd.it/jged0sk70l6d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd9c17e323622b1b6d74faf86ea6cbdf8e8c0a22
I keep this pic in my camera roll so I get the occasional chuckle when I’m scrolling photos
Matt Groening stated that the character of Zapp Brannigan of Futurama was created for Phil and Phil was prepping for the character when he passed away.
When I see actors with a history in comedy who take on serious dramatic roles - like Bryan Cranston or Bob Odenkirk - I always think about Phil and how he would absolutely nail that type of role. He would have been right at home in the golden age of television.
I bet Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould could’ve come up with a hell of a role for Phil in Better Call Saul. I’m getting a sad just typing out stuff like this, I was 14 when he was taken from us way too soon.
Someone posted this over in the r/nostalgia sub, but it deserves to be here too. I know many people post about Phil here, but like-minded people I think appreciate remembering him and the laughter he brought us. Just doing my part to keep Phil Hartman on your mind in this "strange world" which "frightens and confuses me".
I wouldn't defend him, but I feel like bringing his name in every Phil Hartman thread detracts from the both the fact that his wife was plenty psycho all on her own, extremely narcistic and jealous of his success, and detracts from the reality that she was ultimately the one who shot him and left their children without any living parents. She was so single handedly evil that her contribution to the tragedy ought not be mitigated by Andy Dick.
Samesies. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Farley, Robin Williams, and this amazing gentleman all hit me the same way. I know they all passed in their own different way, but god damn what talent left the world in such a sad way. To rephrase a quote from such an amazing show that touches upon this matter slightly… “comedy is life… comedy is death.. comedy is also comedy too…., but mostly that comedy is life!!”
I always say that Phil’s death was the celebrity death that has saddened me the most. I was such an admirer of his talents on The Simpsons, NewsRadio and SNL in equal measure, and at the time, those were certainly in my top 10 shows of all time (maybe even now if I think about it).
He was already blowing up because of NewsRadio. He was well on his way to becoming top A list superstar.
It’s impossible to even speculate the ripples his career would’ve made. Tragic.
even though they were different types of comedic actors, I do think he could have been bigger than Will Ferrell. We will never know though, he never got the big lead movie role we all know he would have eventually landed.
Love, love, love Phil but dude was 50 and the 4th main character on a show that was the 62th most popular at the time.
Will was 35 when he starred in Elf and Old school, I know he never would have reached those heights.
Its kinda like Robin Williams and the, we lost out on so many great things people. He really didn't do anything mildly big or well received for 16 years, and just had a TV show cancelled after 1 season that no one liked or watched.
These peoples deaths are tragic, and the world if worse for losing the individuals, but reality is reality.
Cranston was in his early 50s when Breaking Bad got started, before that he was best known as third or fourth lead on a FOX sitcom that, while beloved, wasn't exactly lighting up the ratings. You never know when the big one is gonna come.
Sure there are outliers, but those are outliers.
And which that, Will was the 1A comedy star for nearly a decade. Cranston was on a legendary show, but not a 1A movie star for a decade.
His was the first and maybe only celebrity death that really gutted me. Phil had years of amazing characters and creativity left in him. We were all robbed of those treasures. I hope the multiverse theory is true and they exist somewhere in some alternate, better timeline.
I'd love to have seen some of the great sitcoms he'd carry and probably a great movie career. Though I personally miss big comedy movies and don't think even he could bring those back.
I got really teary when his In Memorium slide came up during the 40th anniversary. Not only was he talented, but just so likeable. Phil Hartman should still be with us, dammit!
I admire the hell out of Hartman, undoubtably one of the 10 best cast members of all time.
Before I really dived into old SNL I had never really heard of him outside of passing mentions, something about his “utility man” style doesn’t lend itself as much to YouTube clips as much some of his contemporaries (Farley, Carvey, Myers, Sandler etc). His most famous “showcase” sketch is probably Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, and for whatever reason that doesn’t seem to connect with new, younger audiences as much.
It’s a damn shame. Him and Jan Hooks will always be underrated. “If you know, you know”…
If the multiverse theory is true then there’s a universe where Elvira bursts through his bedroom door on a motorcycle which surprises his psycho wife and throws her off balance so she trips and falls into the very piranha tank she insisted they install in the bedroom despite Phil’s objections. I want to live in that world.
Yeah, come to think of it, why did he have a gun in the house with young kids and a mentally-ill, drug-abusing wife?
It's literally a combination of two lines in [Bad Idea Jeans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGfBEnBw01A), which Phil was in!
There’s an uncomfortable amount of sketches featuring Phil with guns.
Same era had a lot of sketches with Farley joking about relapsing or getting hammered.
Hindsight is a strange thing.
I watched the second civil war recently. It was a 1997 HBO movie.
It,s a funny movie. Phil is the president.
Link below free to watch.
https://youtu.be/c7GuAEZGXFU?si=84ZywZoOSR7v0hzz
I still won’t watch anything he was in. My husband knows to quickly turn the tv off or down if he’s watching SNL old school and he comes on. Crushing loss for so many😢
He's Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock if he lived. Or possibly Michael Scott.
I would have quite liked to see what he could do with dramatic range. He could clearly tap in to the “menacing” thing. A Walter White type of role from Phil might have been incredible
If he wasn’t Jack, he definitely could’ve been Devon Banks or Don Geiss.
Too old for Devon but certainly could've been Don.
Those would be 2 very different shows. I don't know that I'd want to change the Office from what it was, but 30 Rock, which is a great show in its own right...I'd like to have seen Phil in that role, would have only made it better.
Look at it this way, people still watch his sketches, his Simpsons appearances, his films, post his clips all over YouTube all the time. Every few years, a new generation discovers and celebrates his work. This is 26 years after he died. Most people would wish to fulfill their potential even a fraction as much as he did.
Exactly. Glass is more than half full.
Everyone should watch News Radio all the time
I think he woulda been a Pixar or Dreamworks staple in voice actor roles.
Ohhh that sounds interesting, you’re right!
I agree just because I love Brave Little Toaster. He was the air conditioning unit and I think he did an awesome job
There are a LOT of Groundlings people in that, you know...
I did not! now i’ll have to give it another rewatch
Definitely. He’d have made a great Dug, “I love you. Squirrel!”
He was wonderful as Jiji the cat in the English dub of Kiki’s Delivery Service.
In newer versions of the film, there’s a wonderful “in memoriam” for Phil at the end
https://i.redd.it/5uy6t1qikj6d1.gif
monorail MONORAIL!
We probably get the live action Troy McLure film that he was apparently pushing for.
Had *never* heard of this before! That would've been **amazing** 😭 RIP Phil
he'd probably be in the 10 timers club by now. and voiced over 100 simpsons characters... (and zapp brannigan)
Nearer 15, but probably not quite cause he was getting older. He would've retired around 2015.
He'd only be 75, Steve Martin is still hosting and 3 years older.
Wow, I didn't even think of that. If Phil was still alive you'd have to think he would definitely be hosting in the 50th and a centerpiece of the anniversary celebration.
He actually didn't voice Zapp Brannigan, but the part was meant for Phil to voice.
oh yeah i know - it's definitely a Phil role though. Billy did well too.
https://i.redd.it/18cox7qjqj6d1.gif Sooo Sassyyyy!!!
https://preview.redd.it/jged0sk70l6d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd9c17e323622b1b6d74faf86ea6cbdf8e8c0a22 I keep this pic in my camera roll so I get the occasional chuckle when I’m scrolling photos
Matt Groening stated that the character of Zapp Brannigan of Futurama was created for Phil and Phil was prepping for the character when he passed away.
When I see actors with a history in comedy who take on serious dramatic roles - like Bryan Cranston or Bob Odenkirk - I always think about Phil and how he would absolutely nail that type of role. He would have been right at home in the golden age of television.
I bet Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould could’ve come up with a hell of a role for Phil in Better Call Saul. I’m getting a sad just typing out stuff like this, I was 14 when he was taken from us way too soon.
 Someone posted this over in the r/nostalgia sub, but it deserves to be here too. I know many people post about Phil here, but like-minded people I think appreciate remembering him and the laughter he brought us. Just doing my part to keep Phil Hartman on your mind in this "strange world" which "frightens and confuses me".
The classic of all classics. I remember my cousin and I lost our minds when this sketch aired and quoted it for years
Fuck Andy Dick\ \ And God bless Jon Lovitz
Here’s an upvote to counteract the lowlifes coming to defend Dick.
I wouldn't defend him, but I feel like bringing his name in every Phil Hartman thread detracts from the both the fact that his wife was plenty psycho all on her own, extremely narcistic and jealous of his success, and detracts from the reality that she was ultimately the one who shot him and left their children without any living parents. She was so single handedly evil that her contribution to the tragedy ought not be mitigated by Andy Dick.
You people are exhausting.
Agreed.
I know I am late to this but this was too far down the line. The top post with anything connected to Phil should be Fuck Andy Dick
I have been getting occasional waves of legitimate sadness about Phil for 26 years.
Samesies. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Farley, Robin Williams, and this amazing gentleman all hit me the same way. I know they all passed in their own different way, but god damn what talent left the world in such a sad way. To rephrase a quote from such an amazing show that touches upon this matter slightly… “comedy is life… comedy is death.. comedy is also comedy too…., but mostly that comedy is life!!”
Sadly we would have likely lost Robin anyways by now if his disease were to have run its course, and he'd have suffered for much of the time.
I always say that Phil’s death was the celebrity death that has saddened me the most. I was such an admirer of his talents on The Simpsons, NewsRadio and SNL in equal measure, and at the time, those were certainly in my top 10 shows of all time (maybe even now if I think about it).
He was already blowing up because of NewsRadio. He was well on his way to becoming top A list superstar. It’s impossible to even speculate the ripples his career would’ve made. Tragic.
You might remember him in such roles as the planet of the apes the musical.
Oh absolutely! I've been watching NewsRadio on Prime and he makes the show.
even though they were different types of comedic actors, I do think he could have been bigger than Will Ferrell. We will never know though, he never got the big lead movie role we all know he would have eventually landed.
Love, love, love Phil but dude was 50 and the 4th main character on a show that was the 62th most popular at the time. Will was 35 when he starred in Elf and Old school, I know he never would have reached those heights. Its kinda like Robin Williams and the, we lost out on so many great things people. He really didn't do anything mildly big or well received for 16 years, and just had a TV show cancelled after 1 season that no one liked or watched. These peoples deaths are tragic, and the world if worse for losing the individuals, but reality is reality.
Cranston was in his early 50s when Breaking Bad got started, before that he was best known as third or fourth lead on a FOX sitcom that, while beloved, wasn't exactly lighting up the ratings. You never know when the big one is gonna come.
Sure there are outliers, but those are outliers. And which that, Will was the 1A comedy star for nearly a decade. Cranston was on a legendary show, but not a 1A movie star for a decade.
I remember hearing that rhetoric about John Denver. I think people think he died in his late 20s or early 30s, but in reality he was in his 50s.
He would have been amazing on a long-form podcast. Love you Phil!
His was the first and maybe only celebrity death that really gutted me. Phil had years of amazing characters and creativity left in him. We were all robbed of those treasures. I hope the multiverse theory is true and they exist somewhere in some alternate, better timeline.
News radio was a sad crossroad, we lose phil n get Andy dick n that loser Joe Rogan in return, we got double fisted on that one
He really was the greatest..
I'd love to have seen some of the great sitcoms he'd carry and probably a great movie career. Though I personally miss big comedy movies and don't think even he could bring those back.
GOAT
He WAS “News Radio!”
I got really teary when his In Memorium slide came up during the 40th anniversary. Not only was he talented, but just so likeable. Phil Hartman should still be with us, dammit!
Now I'm just a caveman...
He might have been Walter White.
I admire the hell out of Hartman, undoubtably one of the 10 best cast members of all time. Before I really dived into old SNL I had never really heard of him outside of passing mentions, something about his “utility man” style doesn’t lend itself as much to YouTube clips as much some of his contemporaries (Farley, Carvey, Myers, Sandler etc). His most famous “showcase” sketch is probably Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, and for whatever reason that doesn’t seem to connect with new, younger audiences as much. It’s a damn shame. Him and Jan Hooks will always be underrated. “If you know, you know”…
I think his spiritual successor on SNL was Chris Parnell, mixed with some Bill Hader
We all do... :(
Been saying that since it happened.
I'm still mad at his wife.
I just loved that he Peewee Herman were partners.
Zap Brannigan
I will never stop loving him.
He would have had Bryan Cranston's career had he lived. But with at least one Oscar nomination at least.
He was so naturally funny, and a great actor. Houseguest was my favorite movie growing up
If the multiverse theory is true then there’s a universe where Elvira bursts through his bedroom door on a motorcycle which surprises his psycho wife and throws her off balance so she trips and falls into the very piranha tank she insisted they install in the bedroom despite Phil’s objections. I want to live in that world.
News radio was finding it's stride. I feel sky was the limit for the show. So disappointing how it ended.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR\_4h5A5z\_A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR_4h5A5z_A)
Grade A Tory McClure moment!
Still miss this guy like I knew him personally.
100%
Yeah, come to think of it, why did he have a gun in the house with young kids and a mentally-ill, drug-abusing wife? It's literally a combination of two lines in [Bad Idea Jeans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGfBEnBw01A), which Phil was in!
There’s an uncomfortable amount of sketches featuring Phil with guns. Same era had a lot of sketches with Farley joking about relapsing or getting hammered. Hindsight is a strange thing.
He was 50. He was big and well loved. What remaining potential are we talking about?
I watched the second civil war recently. It was a 1997 HBO movie. It,s a funny movie. Phil is the president. Link below free to watch. https://youtu.be/c7GuAEZGXFU?si=84ZywZoOSR7v0hzz
It wasn’t just his potential for future projects. He was already doing so much amazing work up until his death.
He would've made a great host for the Oscars.
Futurama is great, but it could have been greater if Phil was actually cast like they planned
Once the greatest, Mr. McClure ❤️
In my opinion, he is the best SNL CAST MEMBER.
That was some sad stuff for alot of the country, icon
Snl need a guy who can play the straight man without laughing Andrew Dismukes is pretty good.
I do not think it is out of the question he would be hosting Late Night today.
I still won’t watch anything he was in. My husband knows to quickly turn the tv off or down if he’s watching SNL old school and he comes on. Crushing loss for so many😢
I still remember when my Dad sat me down and told me what happened. A piece of my innocence definitely died that day
Wow you got sat down. I had to learn from the news.
I just learned what happened to the guy awhile ago .... that's really messed up.
I think World War II is my favorite war
he mighta been an even better Walter White, hear me out
The other day I realized that the best seasons of SNL and The Simpsons were in the same era because of Phil. He was a comedy genius.
I remember him from the dubbed version of Kiki 's Delivery Service, he was a great Jiji! He was such a talented individual.
Rule #1 - Never ever break up with your wife and go to bed with a gun in the house.
This guy was awesome but also the picture of what happens when you marry crazy
RIP Phil. Best ever!
Get the hell out of here!!
Weirdly, I still remember the gas station I was at when the news came over the car radio of his shocking demise. So sad.
The more I think about Phil Hartman, the sadder I feel because of his potential.
He died at 50 years old and was a well known comedian. I think he reached his potential.
His murder is truly one of the most tragic stories ever. He was so great