May 28, 1998.
Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear the news of Phil's untimely and tragic death.  This is truly a loss for us all.  I'm not sure what else to say about this remarkably talented man who had the ability to make so many of us laugh, except that he will indeed be deeply missed. We will all keep his children in our hopes and prayers, and I hope this tragedy reminds us of how much work we still have to do in addressing the perception and reality of violence in America as a solution to too many of our problems.

Of course I will always remember Phil as the voice of Troy and Lionel Hutz, Attorney at Law, amongst many other "minor" and one-off characters on The Simpsons, but I also fondly remember his days as a regular on Saturday Night Live (back when the show was still funny).  Who could forget his Bill Clinton, "sticking the ATM card in the machine", or his Frankenstein singing "Fire bad!" ?

Up until this point my cyberspace identity has always been "Troy McClure", and I don't believe that this should change in the wake of recent events.  Rather, let us forever treasure the memory of Phil Hartman, the myriad of wonderful characters on the silver screen and the small screen he breathed life into, and of course, all the laughter he's given us throughout the years.  As Leonard Nimoy said in the Monorail Episode (in which Phil played the voice of monorail con-man Lyle Lanley), "The world needs laughter."

I encourage you all to visit the links below to get just a glimpse of the depth and breadth of Phil's work.  Thank you for visiting this page, and feel free to leave your thoughts, sentiments, and memories in the guestbook.
 

NEWS:

September 26, 1998:

The Simpsons won an Emmy award for Outstanding Animated Series, and Matt Groening very respectfully dedicated it to "a man you may remember from such characters as Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure, Phil Hartman."  A fitting tribute to a great entertainer.

Phil did not win the Emmy for his supporting work in NewsRadio.
 

Saturday, July 25, 1998:

Phil has been nominated for a  "best supporting actor" Emmy for his work on Newsradio!  He has never won an Emmy for acting, but chances are good he will win in consideration of the wonderful work he did in his lifetime.  Phil did win an emmy in 1989 for his writing on SNL.

And here's yet another useful blurb I found on Usenet, from the July 23 Chicago Sun-Times.   Reproduced without permission.

"In light of the recent murder of comedian Phil Hartman, it's unlikely Hartman-voiced characters such as actor Troy McClure or discount lawyer Lionel Hutz will return on 'The Simpsons'.

'We will retire them with great honor,' Groening said. 'We may have them appear in the background of scenes. But I can't imagine us continuing with those characters.'"

At the end of the rerun of "Bart Carny", there were photo stills of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz with the caption, "In Loving Memory of our friend Phil Hartman."  I think I speak for many Simpsons fans when I say that I hope FOX presents a more memorable and worthy tribute to Phil next season, including but not limited to clips of Phil backstage in the voice studio.

QUOTES:

"His brilliant comic acting and easygoing enthusiasm made him a joy to work with, and he will be sorely missed." -- Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons

Harry Shearer, who worked with Hartman on "The Simpsons," told MSNBC his fellow comedian "was a great presence, was always a source of humor and reason to laugh."
 

LINKS:

  Hartmania!  An excellent collection of links to Phil-related sites and tributes.

A Phil Hartman Tribute: "Phil gave me my fifteen minutes of fame."  A true story from a fellow Phil fan.

Mr. Showbiz: Phil Hartman: An Appreciation.  Includes a quote and pic from Phil's classic SNL character, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer!

Internet Movie Database biography and filmography for Phil Hartman

A list of all of Phil Hartman's voiceover credits as of 1996

SNL Phil Hartman's Characters (definitely check this out!  It will give you a great laugh reminiscing over his old characters.)

A dignified retrospective from miningco.com