Photo: Paul Hartmann / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Phil Hartman is my favorite kind of comedian: the one who makes everyone else funnier. His Saturday Night Live colleagues called him the glue, and that nickname says everything about a performer whose ego never got in the way of the sketch. I love that he started as a graphic designer making album covers; you can feel that craftsman's discipline in how precisely he built every character he voiced and played. His death in 1998 remains one of comedy's most painful losses, but what endures is the lesson he embodied, that generosity rather than spotlight-hunger is what makes comic talent immortal.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Phil Hartman
- Name (Japanese)
- フィル・ハートマン
- Reading
- ふぃる・はーとまん
- Born
- September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rat
- Origin
- Brantford, Ontario, Canada
- Occupation
- comedian / screenwriter / graphic designer / voice actor / television actor
2. Background
- High school
- Redondo Union High School
- University
- California State University, Northridge
Awards & achievements
- 1989 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
- 2012 Canada's Walk of Fame
- 2014 star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Phil Hartman born?
September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998.
Where is Phil Hartman from?
Phil Hartman is from Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
What does Phil Hartman do?
Phil Hartman works as comedian, screenwriter, graphic designer, voice actor, television actor.
Comedian — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from Canada →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.