Matt Groening on Phil Hartman
HallOfEyes
cause of this...) Matt Groening wrote an article about Phil Hartman. I figured
this ng would be interested enough to read it so here it is (transcribed by
me)---
Phil Hartman (1948-1998)
Like A lot of other people, I was a huge fan of Phil's. The characters he
portrayed on "Saturday Night Live", "News Radio", and "The Simpsons" were funny
as hell, but there was something more: in Phil's voice, in his body language,
in the twinkle in his eye, you could sense a performer fully enjoying himself.
Phil was digging the acting process while he was in the middle of it, and the
fact that many of Phil's characters were so blatantly consumed by a hilariously
smarmy insincerity just added to the audiences enjoyment. You could always tell
Phil was having a blast performing, and that he enjoyed his fellow actors'
performances as well. And whenever Phil was on a talk show, I tuned in, because
his Phil Hartman interview persona was just as entertaining as his characters.
I first saw Phil Hartman in 1980, I think it was, when he played Captain Carl
in the early, stage version of "Pee Wee's Playhouse", which ran for several
months at the Groundlings Theatre on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. In a show
full of top notch performers, not least of whom was Pee-Wee Herman himself, I
thought Phil was a stand out. I told him so one night at a party, and many
years later, when Phil first came to the recording stage at "The Simpsons", I
was gratified to learn that he had remembered my gushing.
And what a thrill it was to have Phil play shoddy lawyer Lionel Hutz, and
washed-up actor Troy McClure on "The Simpsons". He was a comedy writer's dream:
Phil could get a laugh out of any line he was given, and make a funny line even
funnier. He nailed the joke every time, and that made all "The Simpsons"
writers worship him. If a script ever dragged, we knew we could throw in a
Lionel Hutz scene and everything would perk right up. We were finally able to
really show our appreciation of Phil with the 1996 episode "A Fish Called
Selma", featuring Troy McClure. One of my favorite moments in the history of
"The Simpsons" is the "Planet of the Apes-The Musical" scene, which made me
laugh till I cried the first time I saw it.
The last time I saw Phil was a week or so before his death, when he came in to
audition for my new, animated show-in-the-works, "Futurama". Of course, Phil
didn't really have to audition - as far as Executive Producer David Cohen and I
were concerned, he had the part. We told Phil that, but he came in anyway, and
blew us away with his performances. Phil tried out a number of voices and made
us laugh every time. He was, as usual, in fine spirits - glad to be there, glad
to be working, having a fine time in life. Phil and I talked about our kids,
and how lucky we both were to be doing work that our kids enjoyed. Phil talked
about all the ad-libs he did for Captain Blasto for the video game Blasto, and
I told him how my kids loved that game. He did a bit of his character Caveman
Lawyer, talked about how much he enjoyed flying his plane, and headed out the
door.
See you soon, Phil, we said. Thanks for coming in!
And now, a couple weeks later, I can't believe I'm sitting here having to write
these words. Everyone who collaborated with Phil at "The Simpsons" will miss
him terribly. Phil's humor, attitude, and easy-going enthusiasm made working
with him a joy. He can never be replaced.
This is one of those awful times in life when words cannot express the grief
that comes with the unexpected loss of a great, great guy.
Matt
---------
Jordan
"My mind was going 100 seconds per hour..."MTV's Jesse Camp.
"McG is a brilliant director..."-MTV's Carson Daly
"Faster than a bastard maniac, more powerful than a loco-madman, it's Super
Freddy!"-Freddy Kreuger, The Dream Child
My sig is depressing.
KdsInThHal
>laugh till I cried the first time I saw it.
cornelius, cornelius, you were my favourite ape... cornelius cornelius, i miss
your toffee cape...
people people people people
apes apes apes apes
. . . . . . .
*sarah
linne...@tmbg.org
http://lava.home.ml.org
"For that cool mint flavour - suck on me." - Craig Kilborn, Daily Show
Kitana Ananda
> "McG is a brilliant director..."-MTV's Carson Daly
<snip>
> My sig is depressing.
LOL, oh yes... very depressing.
::sigh::
"People, if you stop watching them, they'll stop making them!"
Oh wait, sorry... I forgot to take my Gleemonex. ::pops a pill::
Studies STILL show that a McG video is a very sad thing -- uh, with the
exception of "One Week" of course.:)
"Can you adjust my reception...?" <bg>
Kitana~
The *official* Interpretive Dancer by day...
Vampire Fag-Hag by night, of alt.tv.kids-in-hall
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Mr Show
>exception of "One Week" of course.:)
Perhaps it's something you can watch with friends, or something that inevitably
lends itself to shapely curves and bends of exploited women and their friends.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jake
Ka...@tmbg.org
http://members.aol.com/mrshow/
somefa...@my-dejanews.com
> Hey...in the latest Simpsons comics (which I don't collect, I only bought it
> cause of this...) Matt Groening wrote an article about Phil Hartman. I figured
> this ng would be interested enough to read it so here it is (transcribed by
> me)---
> Phil Hartman (1948-1998)
> Like A lot of other people, I was a huge fan of Phil's. The characters he
This is so cool of you to do! Have you posted it in alt.tv.newsradio yet? I
think many there would enjoy reading it, too! :-) -- mary
"No, what I'm trying to communicate is that I'm willing to do nudity -- no
extra charge!!" -Bill McNeal, WNYX
KdsInThHal
i can't staaand to wait in line long, so i built a new machine....
. . . . . . .
somefa...@my-dejanews.com
kdsin...@aol.com (KdsInThHal) wrote:
> i can't staaand to wait in line long, so i built a new machine....
> . . . . . . .
> *sarah
> linne...@tmbg.org
> http://lava.home.ml.org
> "For that cool mint flavour - suck on me." - Craig Kilborn, Daily Show
YEAH!!!! You're the first to get-it!! Absolutely the *best* CD I've heard so
far this year!! <VBG> -- mary
Kitana Ananda
> > i can't staaand to wait in line long, so i built a new machine....
... it just measures up the distance, and then eliminates the folks between.
Then, Mary wrote:
> YEAH!!!! You're the first to get-it!! Absolutely the *best* CD I've heard so
> far this year!! <VBG> -- mary
LOL, I think many (especially in this ng <bg>) have *gotten* it.;)
1 million strong,
Kitana~
The *official* Interpretive Dancer by day...
Vampire Fag-Hag by night, of alt.tv.kids-in-hall
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
KdsInThHal
>YEAH!!!! You're the first to get-it!!
many of us will get it here, don't worry:)