Jul 1 2025

The Phil Hartman Story

58 min 16 movies discussed
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Sadly, Phil Hartman may be best remembered for being murdered in his sleep by his wife. This episode covers that, but mostly aims to stoke the memories of the legendary talent's life and work.

AI Summary

# Summary

This episode dives into the life and career of Phil Hartman, the Canadian-born comedian and actor who became a Saturday Night Live legend and voiced Troy McClure on The Simpsons. Josh and Chuck trace Phil's journey from his childhood in Ontario through his years as a roadie and album cover artist for major rock bands, his dedicated 11-year stint with the improv troupe The Groundlings, and his eventual breakthrough on SNL in the mid-1980s alongside castmates like Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon. They also explore Phil's personal life, including his pattern of intense but short-lived marriages and his pivotal 1985 meeting with Brynn Omdahl, a former model and actress in recovery from substance abuse, who would become his third wife and have a major impact on the rest of his story.


Movies Discussed

¡Three Amigos!
¡Three Amigos!
1986 1h 43m
★ 6.3
"He also had a small part in Three Amigos, which Lorne produced. — Josh mentions Phil Hartman had a small role in Three Amigos, a film produced by Lorne Michaels." — Josh
Coneheads
Coneheads
1993 PG 1h 27m
★ 5.5
"He was in So I Married an Axe Murderer, he was in Coneheads. — Chuck lists films Phil Hartman appeared in during his SNL years." — Chuck
Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace
1993 PG 1h 36m
★ 5.9
"He apparently had a pretty bad experience doing voiceover for animation for the Dennis the Menace animated show. — Josh explains that Phil Hartman had a negative experience with the Dennis the Menace animated show before working on The Simpsons." — Josh
F Troop
F Troop
1965 TV-PG
★ 6.3
"One of them was, it was a child actor prior to Rockin' Foo. He was on F Troop, Gunsmoke, a bunch of other stuff. — Josh mentions F Troop when discussing a band member's prior acting work." — Josh
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
1997 2h 7m
★ 8.2
"He went on to do four seasons of News Radio, which is one of the great underrated office comedies, along with Working, the one that Fred Savage was in. — Chuck mentions Working as another underrated office comedy from the era." — Chuck
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
1955
★ 6.7
"He was on F Troop, Gunsmoke, a bunch of other stuff. — Josh mentions Gunsmoke as part of a child actor's television background." — Josh
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
1997 TV-PG
★ 6.6
"And Just Shoot Me is the other underrated office comedy of all time, I think, from the 90s at least. — Chuck lists Just Shoot Me as an underrated office comedy from the 1990s." — Chuck
Mork & Mindy
Mork & Mindy
1978
★ 7.0
"He was the giant old baby that arrived in an egg at Mork and Mindy's doorstep, I guess. — Chuck references Jonathan Winters' character on Mork and Mindy to help listeners understand who Winters was." — Chuck
NewsRadio
NewsRadio
1995 TV-PG
★ 7.4
"He went on to do four seasons of News Radio, which is one of the great underrated office comedies. — Chuck discusses Phil Hartman's work on the sitcom NewsRadio after leaving Saturday Night Live." — Chuck
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
1985 1h 31m
★ 6.5
"Phil Hartman was a co-writer on that. And that was 1985. — Chuck mentions Phil Hartman's work as a co-writer on the Pee-wee Herman movie." — Chuck
Pee-wee's Playhouse
Pee-wee's Playhouse
1986
★ 7.1
"He played Captain Carl. His character was, he played a character on Pee-wee's Playhouse for the first season. — Chuck explains Phil Hartman's acting role on the children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse." — Chuck
Police Academy
Police Academy
1984 1h 37m
★ 6.7
"Like on Police Academy, I can't remember his character's name. — Josh references Police Academy when discussing Tim Kazurinsky's acting career." — Josh
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
1975
★ 7.0
"That was pretty good. I love it when there's like a impression of an impression. — Josh and Chuck discuss Phil Hartman doing an impression of Phil Hartman doing Ed McMahon, a classic SNL bit." — Josh
So I Married an Axe Murderer
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993 1h 33m
★ 6.1
"He was in So I Married an Axe Murderer, he was in Coneheads. — Chuck lists films Phil Hartman appeared in during his SNL years." — Chuck
The Music Man
The Music Man
1962 G 2h 31m
★ 7.1
"He got his first professional stage credit when he played Harold Hill in The Music Man for the Santa Monica Theatre Company. — Chuck discusses Phil Hartman's early stage work playing Harold Hill, a role he later parodied on The Simpsons." — Chuck
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
1989
★ 8.0
"Known best for his work on probably Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. — Josh mentions The Simpsons as one of Phil Hartman's most well-known roles." — Josh

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