What Phil Hartman's Final Appearance On SNL Was Really Like
Few cast members in the history of "Saturday Night Live" have left as much of an impact as Phil Hartman. The comedian joined the show in 1986, coming off of an already successful career as a member of the Groundlings, where he helped co-created the character of Pee-wee Herman with Paul Reubens. However, Hartman soon became somewhat of a cast leader among other "Saturday Night Live" greats like Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, and Mike Myers.
Among later cast members who had the opportunity to work with him, such as Adam Sandler, Hartman earned the nickname the Glue for how he held the show together during his tenure. Hartman frequently impersonated sitting presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, kept a straight face as Chris Farley yelled about living in a van down by the river, and even starred in odd sketches by unique writers like Jack Handey.
Sadly, Hartman's promising career after "Saturday Night Live" was cut short by tragedy, and even years later many of his closest friends and co-workers still muse about what could've been. Hartman had plenty of opportunities to say farewell to the show that turned him into a household name and was even one of the first cast members to be paid tribute to as he said goodbye. Sadly, no goodbye Hartman made on the show would account for how much he'd be missed in the years to come.
Phil Hartman wavered on leaving SNL for a long time
By the time 1994 rolled around, Phil Hartman had been on "Saturday Night Live" for eight seasons. During his time there, the actor won an Emmy for his writing contributions to the show while creating memorable characters like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, Eugene the Chef, and Frankenstein. His impersonation of Bill Clinton also received recognition from the president himself, particularly one sketch in which Hartman played Clinton as a candidate speaking to average Americans in a McDonald's whilst stealing their food.
However, by the mid-90s, much of the cast who Hartman starred alongside in 1986 had departed, including Dana Carvey and Jan Hooks, making Hartman feel out of place within the newer cast. Hartman echoed these sentiments to Entertainment Weekly in 1994, citing the show's change in comedic tone as a reason for his departure: "I like Adam Sandler, but that's not my kind of comedy, so, yeah, in a way it makes me feel like, 'Well, it's time for me to go.'"
His departure from "Saturday Night Live" was announced at the beginning of Season 19, which also ended up being the swan song for fellow cast members like Rob Schneider, Julia Sweeney, Melanie Hutsell, and Sarah Silverman.
Hartman's final episode limited his usage
Throughout Phil Hartman's final season on "Saturday Night Live," it was speculated that the actor's decision to depart from the show caused NBC executives to leave him out of sketches on a weekly basis, though Hartman insisted that this wasn't true. Nevertheless, Hartman's absence can be felt in those final episodes of his as a cast member, but especially his very last one. The Season 19 finale was hosted by "Melrose Place" star Heather Locklear, and Hartman only appears twice throughout the entire episode.
His first appearance is during Locklear's monologue, which parodies "Melrose Place" with Hartman interrupting the monologue to profess his love to Locklear in a rivalry with Kevin Nealon. Later in the episode, Hartman appears in a talk show sketch where he reprises his impersonation of Senator Ted Kennedy. Overall, Hartman was dramatically underused during this episode, as well as the entirety of Season 19.
In an interview with Dateline in 1994, Hartman reflected on his time on the show, noting that, "From the start, really, I've been overshadowed by others on the show," believing it to be natural for him to focus on challenging himself into exploring new areas of his career.
Chris Farley says goodbye to Phil Hartman
The Season 19 finale of "Saturday Night Live" was a turning point in how the show treated departing cast members. In the show's first two decades, many significant performers on the show left between seasons without much fanfare. However, the Heather Locklear-hosted episode was notable for closing out the season with a musical number featuring cast and recurring characters covering "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music" while saying goodbye to the beloved and incomparable Phil Hartman.
At the end of the sketch, Chris Farley's Matt Foley, the motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river, is alone on stage until he's joined by Hartman as himself. In one of the more sincere, heartfelt moments in the show's history, Hartman takes a seat while embracing Foley, saying, "I can't imagine a more dignified way to end my eight years on this program," before serenading Farley's character to sleep.
Nowadays, many beloved cast members have received farewell tributes during their final episodes, such as Will Ferrell or Kristen Wiig. More recently, "Saturday Night Live" stars like Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong also were sent off the program with heartfelt goodbyes. However, many "Saturday Night Live" fans would agree that nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing Hartman and Farley share the stage together for one last time at the end of Season 19 knowing that the two's comedy careers would be tragically cut short.
Phil Hartman stayed at NBC for NewsRadio
Although his tenure on "Saturday Night Live" ended in 1994, Phil Hartman didn't move far from the sketch comedy show's weekly time slot. In 1995, the comedian joined the cast of the NBC sitcom, "NewsRadio," centering on an out-of-control all-news radio station in New York City. Alongside cast members like Dave Foley, Maura Tierney, Stephen Root, and Joe Rogan, Hartman played Bill McNeal, the arrogant radio anchor whose lifestyle is often torturous for Foley's straight-man character.
Particularly, playing the role of Bill McNeal was a breath of fresh air for Hartman after eight years on "Saturday Night Live," and the role fit the comedian's sense of humor like a glove. While the show struggled to find a consistent time slot on NBC, Hartman worried the show would suffer from network-demanded changes, telling Entertainment Weekly, "There was a worry that, in order for us to become an even bigger hit on Wednesdays, we'd have to make it more 'accessible,' whatever that means."
Aside from "NewsRadio," Hartman also continued to contribute voice work on Matt Groening's hit Fox animated series "The Simpsons" while also making appearances on TV shows like "The Dana Carvey Show," "3rd Rock from the Sun," and "The Ren & Stimpy Show." It wasn't long after his departure from "Saturday Night Live," however, when Hartman made a grand return to his original television home.
Hartman returns to Saturday Night Live in 1996
In 1996, two years after Phil Hartman's departure from "Saturday Night Live" as a cast member, the comedian returned to host the show for the first time. His return to the show was highly anticipated, and the actor did not hesitate to make it an episode worth remembering for fans of the program. However, the cast had undergone a massive shake-up since his last appearance on the show, including the firing of talent like Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, as well as the hiring of future stars like Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, and Darrell Hammond.
Hartman's first appearance in the episode is during the cold open, where he reprises his impersonation of Charlton Heston. As if the applause upon Hartman's return wasn't enough, the comedian also received an extended standing ovation upon stepping out onto the monologue stage. Still, he wasted little time, spending his monologue faking a nervous breakdown before being calmed down by Lorne Michaels.
The monologue is also an opportunity to introduce Hartman to the show's new cast, including Ferrell, Chris Kattan, and Nancy Walls. Hartman also reunites with his former cast mate Tim Meadows, who had remained on the show during the great firing of 1995. The cold opening and monologue of Hartman's hosting debut proved one thing — Hartman was still a natural at "Saturday Night Live."
Phil brings in new characters and rehashes old ones
For his grand return to "Saturday Night Live," Phil Hartman didn't torture the audience by not reprising some of his most iconic characters and impressions. Aside from Charlton Heston in the cold opening, Hartman also brought back his impression of Frank Sinatra later in the show as a guest on the talk show "Leg Up," co-hosted by Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri as dancers Ann Miller and Debbie Reynolds, respectively.
Hartman also appeared on Weekend Update, which was now hosted by Norm MacDonald, who took over for Kevin Nealon the year after Hartman left the show. Here, Hartman briefly reprises his iconic character of Frankenstein, appearing to provide commentary on congressional budget cuts to firefighters: "Fire bad!"
In addition to Hartman's returning characters, the comedian also came through with brand-new characters for his latest hosting gig. One of them was Bobby Coldsman, a pretentious acting teacher who instructs his students with his eccentric and over-demanding acting exercises. The Bobby Coldsman sketch also gives Hartman a great opportunity to act one-on-one opposite the 1996 cast, including Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, and Chris Kattan, who play his students who are far too eager to please their mentor. However, all of these sketches pale in comparison to one recurring character that Hartman reprised during his first hosting job.
The return of Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
"Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" is one of Phil Hartman's more memorable characters from his tenure as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live." The first sketch, which aired in 1991, features Hartman as a caveman who was, according to the opening crawl, thawed out of ice by scientists and goes on to become a lawyer. Conceived by "Saturday Night Live" writer Jack Handey, the sketch was the perfect fit for a performer like Hartman who could sell both the suavity and absurd articulateness of Cirroc.
For a sketch that later became the favorite of future "Saturday Night Live" greats like Bill Hader and Kenan Thompson, it was underrated at the time but has since become a cult classic. Fortunately, Hartman's first hosting gig reprised "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer," though it doesn't vary much in content compared to the other times the sketch aired, aside from the Jack Handey-esque product placements that precede each installment.
However, that wasn't Cirroc's only appearance of the night. Following the commercial break after "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer," Hartman remains in costume as the character, chest hair exposed, as he introduces the musical guest's second performance. If Hartman's regular presence on "Saturday Night Live" wasn't missed by 1996, "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" is the perfect reminder of how naturally great the late performer was not only at character work but at surprising an audience with the most ridiculous bits imaginable.
Hartman hosted a second time in the same year
Fortunately, fans of Phil Hartman didn't have to wait too long to see the comedian return to host "Saturday Night Live" for a second time. Also in 1996, the same year as his hosting debut, Hartman made another appearance as host in the following season's fall lineup of episodes. The episode was much more routine for the sketch comedy veteran, possibly indicating that he may have returned to host many more times in the future had things turned out differently.
For instance, Hartman's monologue this time around is much more simple, with him giving a shoutout to his family and making fun of himself for keeping busy with commercials and acting work. It's quite a step down from his monologue in the previous season, which sees him interacting with other cast members backstage during a triumphant return to the show that turned him into a star.
In an ironic twist similar to Hartman's final episode as a cast member, his final appearance as host of "Saturday Night Live" also drastically underused the performer — especially since the host is meant to be central to the episode's sketches. Many highlights of the episode, including an ad for a Lux car designed for wacky people and a surprising Weekend Update cameo from Rodney Dangerfield, don't involve Hartman at all. However, when the comedian does appear during the episode, he shines.
Hartman's impressions rule his second hosting gig
Phil Hartman's second hosting gig allowed the comedian to focus on some of his more iconic celebrity impersonations. In his first sketch of the night, Hartman reprises his Ted Kennedy impression in a talk show hosted by Ana Gasteyer's purposefully obnoxious talk show host Kincaid. Hartman also appears as Frank Sinatra on "The Joe Pesci Show," hosted by Jim Breuer as the "Goodfellas" actor.
Additionally, Hartman reprises the eccentric acting teacher Bobby Coldsman from his first hosting appearance, teaching the same group of students from the first iteration of the sketch. Hartman also does a great job in sketches like "Pacific Brigade," casually informing a squadron of soldiers that they're going on a suicide mission. However, other sketches, such as a talent show fundraiser for Thanksgiving-themed songs, woefully misuse Hartman by forcing the host into the straight-man role in a flamboyantly silly sketch.
Overall, Hartman's second "Saturday Night Live" hosting job isn't as strong as the first, though it does contain some bright moments in a few of its sketches. A poor episode of "Saturday Night Live" isn't uncommon, but considering what would happen to Hartman to prevent him from returning to the show in the future, the episode being Hartman's last appearance on the show ends up feeling like a wasted opportunity.
The death of Phil Hartman shakes the comedy world
"Saturday Night Live" is no stranger to tragedy when it comes to some of its biggest cast members. By 1998, John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Gilda Radner had all passed away much younger than they should've, but perhaps no one expected a similar fate for a man like Phil Hartman. On May 28, 1998, it was reported that Hartman had been shot in his sleep by his wife Brynn in a murder-suicide, which came as a huge shock to the comedy world and some of Hartman's closest friends and co-workers.
Though little is known about the actual events that transpired, speculations arose regarding Brynn's relationship to drug abuse, as well as her feelings towards Hartman's increasing fame. Still, many of Hartman's closest friends gathered at Jon Lovitz's house hours after learning of his passing, sharing in their disbelief over the fact that someone who created so much joy was suddenly gone.
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Hartman's projects move on without him
Although Phil Hartman wasn't on the cast of "Saturday Night Live" when he died, his passing affected many other shows. The most significant was NBC's "NewsRadio," with Hartman's character having to be killed off in between seasons prior to the show's fifth and final season. The season premiere, "Bill Moves On," centers on the rest of the cast coping with the death of their co-worker both on and off-screen, featuring an iconic moment where the characters read letters written to them from Bill.
Hartman's role on the show was later replaced with his friend and former "Saturday Night Live" co-star Jon Lovitz. However, Lovitz notably had on-set tensions with "NewsRadio" cast member Andy Dick, even accusing him during an on-set altercation of being responsible for Hartman's death by reintroducing his wife Brynn to cocaine at a party. The two would later get into a physical fight at a comedy club years later.
The characters Hartman voiced on "The Simpsons" were also retired from the show. Hartman's passing also meant he could not star in Matt Groening's subsequent animated series, "Futurama," in which he was already cast as Zapp Branigan, a role Groening claims to have written for Hartman. As Groening wrote of Hartman in a tribute that has since been reposted on Reddit, Hartman "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."
Saturday Night Live continues to pay tribute to Hartman's legacy
Phil Hartman is dearly missed by his former cast members at "Saturday Night Live," as well as the subsequent performers who came to respect the underrated comedian. NBC aired a special tribute episode a few months after Hartman's passing and also compiled some of his best sketches into a "The Best of Phil Hartman" DVD released in 1998. Hartman was also included in the In Memoriam during the "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary special.
However, Hartman's talent could never be replaced, which is something his former "Saturday Night Live" co-stars are all too aware of. In a recent episode of David Spade and Dana Carvey's "Fly on the Wall" podcast dedicated to Hartman, guest Kevin Nealon spoke about the big star Hartman was soon to become: "I always wonder about the career Phil would've had too if he went on. I mean, certainly Tom Cruise wouldn't be where he is right now, that's for sure."
There's still "Saturday Night Live" content including Hartman that has yet to be seen. Recently, Carvey shared an unaired "Saturday Night Live" short featuring Hartman on his Twitter, which was the first time in a long time that the public has gotten to see new material from Hartman. Hopefully, it won't be the last time.