Phil Hartman

As a comedic character actor virtually without peer, Phil Hartman was revered for his talents as an artist, actor, vocal performer and teacher, while serving as something of a surrogate parent to a wide swath of comedians who were lucky enough to work alongside him. Hartman received national attention for his eight-year stint on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), where he became famous for over-the-top characters like the Anal Retentive Chef and Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, as well as his impersonations of Frank Sinatra, Ed McMahon and Bill Clinton; the latter widely considered to be his best. After being labeled "the glue" that held together the cast that brought the show back into prominence in the late 1980s into the next decade, he left in 1994 to star on the hit sitcom, "NewsRadio" (NBC, 1995-99), on which he played a pompous and egocentric news radio host to great comedic effect, as well as continuing to contribute his unique voice to "The Simpson" (Fox, 1989- ), most famously as washed-up infomercial actor Troy McClure. He worked in film and TV for almost two decades, and often mused on his unique celebrity as a household name but not yet a star. Nevertheless, he was grateful for his successes and confident that the right role would one day come. Tragically, Hartman was killed in a murder-suicide committed by his wife in 1998, a heinous act that was widely and genuinely mourned throughout Hollywood and beyond.