Most actors/performers are lucky to find a successful role on one major TV show or movie in their career. Phil Hartman proved to be the exception to the rule. He was a hit on SNL, he was a huge part of the "Simpsons" cast and he co-starred on...
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Most actors/performers are lucky to find a successful role on one major TV show or movie in their career. Phil Hartman proved to be the exception to the rule. He was a hit on SNL, he was a huge part of the "Simpsons" cast and he co-starred on "Newsradio." Who knows what else he would have done if he had not died so young and so tragically?

I think the secret to his success was that Phil Hartman didn't put his ego ahead of being funny. He was never really the "star" of any of his projects, but he was always a crucial part of the cast and always brought his "A" game. Anytime he came on screen in "Newsradio" was comedy magic, and I still crack up when I hear him as Troy McClure or Lionel Hutz on "The Simpsons."

While his death is tragic, he has left us with a legacy of performances that continue to entertain audiences nearly 10 years after his death.

The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, was a recurring character played by Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. He had been a caveman who fell into a glacial crevasse during the Ice Age, preserving his body well enough that some scientists who discovered...
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The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, was a recurring character played by Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. He had been a caveman who fell into a glacial crevasse during the Ice Age, preserving his body well enough that some scientists who discovered him in 1988 thawed him out. He subsequently attended law school.

Cirroc was a defense and personal injury lawyer, and in a later skit a politician running for President on the platform of eliminating the capital gains tax. The running gag was that Cirroc would speak in a highly articulate and smoothly self-assured manner to a jury or an audience about how things in the modern world "frighten and confuse" him. He would then list several things that confound him about modern life or the natural world such as, "When I see a solar eclipse, like the one I went to last year in Hawaii, I think 'Oh no! Is the moon eating the sun?' I don't know. Because I'm a caveman -- that's the way I think." This pronouncement would seem out of keeping with someone who had, for example, just ended a brisk cell phone conversation. He would always finish a disquisition, however, by asserting in a burst of righteousness that nevertheless "There is one thing I DO know..." which is that his client is either innocent, or that he is entitled to several million dollars or more in both compensatory and punitive damages for an injury. The jury or counsel is invariably swayed by Cirroc's argument, except every time the Judge announces the verdict in his favor, Cirroc is distracted by some other event like watching a Knicks game on his portable TV, or by a cell phone call, and the verdict has to be repeated. The role was a satire of cynical lawyers and politicians who disingenuously present themselves as folksy and homespun in order to sway a jury or impress a constituency into identifying with them.

One episode was performed completely in Spanish. Another classic episode revolved around odd references to Cirroc having once dated the sister of his modern American wife, with intense speculation on the genetic features of Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer's children.

Like many Saturday Night Live sketches, "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" was presented as a parody of a television show. During the opening and closing of the "show", the announcer would list some of the "show's" highly unusual sponsors such as "Big Fat Bean" ("Why eat a lot of little beans when you can eat one big bean?"); "Gas Plus" ("Actually gives you gas!"); "Dog Assassin" ("When you can't bear to put him to sleep, maybe it's time to call Dog Assassin"); "Cubic Yard of Earthworms" ("What you do with it is your business"); "Wilson Ear Drill" ("We don't recommend that you use an ear drill, but if you insist, why not get the best!") and the popular Happy Fun Ball ("still legal in 16 states - it's legal, it's fun, it's Happy Fun Ball!").

One of the best comedians, that now is sadly gone. He provided the voice of Lionel Hutz in the Simpsons, and I am really sad that he was gone when I heard about his death, he is a classic comedian and one of the best. His character on the Simpsons...
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One of the best comedians, that now is sadly gone. He provided the voice of Lionel Hutz in the Simpsons, and I am really sad that he was gone when I heard about his death, he is a classic comedian and one of the best. His character on the Simpsons was one of the funniest because of his cheating behavior. We missed him. He is a great.

Phil Hartmann was a wonderful comedian and a true actor, whose career was cut much too short by a tragic incident. You really believe that ahe got into acting because he loves it for what it is. You never saw him in any tabloids and you never hear...
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Phil Hartmann was a wonderful comedian and a true actor, whose career was cut much too short by a tragic incident. You really believe that ahe got into acting because he loves it for what it is. You never saw him in any tabloids and you never hear any gossip about him. In his roles, you sense more relism than many other actor's who are considered more talented than he. Of all of his roles in all of his movies, my favorite has to be "Fletch Lives."

Phil Hartman was a great performer and comedian. I remember him on Saturday Night Live, where he was great. I remember him from Pee-Wee\\\'s Playhouse as Captain Carl. Mostly I remember him from \\\"The Simpsons\\\". Without him, the show has...
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Phil Hartman was a great performer and comedian. I remember him on Saturday Night Live, where he was great. I remember him from Pee-Wee\\\'s Playhouse as Captain Carl. Mostly I remember him from \\\"The Simpsons\\\". Without him, the show has gone a notch down in my book. He played in usually 8 or 9 episodes a season. His characters were Lionel Hutz, the lawyer that always loses, but the Simpsons always used him, and Troy McClure the ex-movie star that now does infomercials and once married Marge\\\'s sister. He also has played on \\\"the Simpsons\\\" several other great side characters. I remember him from movies like Small Soldiers or Loaded Weapon. I\\\'ll miss him greatly

Phil Hartman was one of the true greats on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons" as Lionel Hutz and Troy Mcclure. Sadly he was killed by his wife while she was on drugs and she then killed herself. He is the only cast member of SNL to be...
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Phil Hartman was one of the true greats on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons" as Lionel Hutz and Troy Mcclure. Sadly he was killed by his wife while she was on drugs and she then killed herself. He is the only cast member of SNL to be killed. Phil will be missed by his fans and everyone on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons".

I thought had he lived, he would had been a
Much bigger household name but sadly he became a
"Household name" the wrong way as his career and most of
All his death, would halt that forever. He sadly was married
To a...
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I thought had he lived, he would had been a
Much bigger household name but sadly he became a
"Household name" the wrong way as his career and most of
All his death, would halt that forever. He sadly was married
To a woman that needed help and had he divorced her
Quietly and nicely, he might still be living. Now two children are without both of their parents.
And the world has lost a talent and what could had been a bigger name star!

I never liked Saturday Night Live, so I never found it relevant to watch any era of the show, nor have I seen NewsRadio (I was only eight when it got canned), but for me, Phil Hartman\'s hilarity has been cemented as his characters from The...
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I never liked Saturday Night Live, so I never found it relevant to watch any era of the show, nor have I seen NewsRadio (I was only eight when it got canned), but for me, Phil Hartman\'s hilarity has been cemented as his characters from The Simpsons. Lionel Hutz was one of the funniest characters on the show and his absence has left a huge gap in every courtroom scene after Season 9. Phil\'s voice acting was great - even if most of his voices sounded similar - because every one of his characters, from Lyle Lanley to Evan Conover (and to a lesser extent, Troy McClure) got you a guaranteed laugh.

Phil Hartman should have been a bigger star, not just another SNL alumni who met an untimely end WAY too early. And the sad thing is, his death wasn\'t even his fault. Phil didn\'t risk doing coke or drinking too much, he just married a psycho who took away from the world another unreplaceable talent.

Sadly, I knew Phil Hartman only for his work on The Simpsons but he definitely is a brilliant actor, voicing one of my favourite characters o the simpsons after Homer and Clacy Wiggum, Lionel Hutz, the hilarious lawyer with priceless quotes.
...
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Sadly, I knew Phil Hartman only for his work on The Simpsons but he definitely is a brilliant actor, voicing one of my favourite characters o the simpsons after Homer and Clacy Wiggum, Lionel Hutz, the hilarious lawyer with priceless quotes.

He was also great as monorail conductor, Lyle Lanley who only appeared in the one episode but was again brilliantly voiced.

Troy McClure was yet another character that Phil voiced and I'll end the review withthe promise that I'll remember you from characters such as Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. Again, this is one voice I won't soon forget.