System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Phil Hartman
1948 - 1998
Comedian Phil Hartman, whose impersonation of President Bill Clinton on Saturday Night Live made him famous, died May 28, 1998. He was 49.
Hartman was born September 24, 1948 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The son of a contractor, Hartman's family moved to the United States, settling in southern California where Hartman went to high school.
While a student at Westchester High School, Hartman was known as the class clown, entertaining his fellow students with impersonations of famous celebrities.
Believing he could not make a career in comedy, Hartman studied graphic design, and later made a living designing logos. He came up with the logo for Crosby, Stills and Nash, and designed rock album covers.
At age 27, Hartman joined The Groundlings, an improvisational group in Los Angeles. Among those in the group at the time were Lorraine Newman and Julia Sweeny, future Saturday Night Live cast members, and Paul Reubens, who would go on to fame as Pee Wee Herman. Hartman helped Reubens create the Pee Wee character.
Hartman joined Saturday Night Live in 1986. For the next eight years, he became a star, impersonating such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Barbara Bush, Jimmy Swaggart and his signature impersonation of President Bill Clinton.
In 1995 he was cast as Bill McNeal, the news anchor on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, a role he played until his death.
Hartman also appeared in several movies, including Three Amigos, Fletch Lives and Jingle All The Way.
Hartman was shot and killed by his wife, Brynn Hartman, at their Encino, California home on May 28, 1998. Friends say the couple was having marital problems. Authorities say his wife apparently killed Hartman and then herself.
