Thu, May 29, 2008
It's Fobody's Nault—3:53 PM
I was reminded this morning that yesterday was the tenth anniversary of Phil Hartman's tragic and untimely passing. Plenty of TV and movie stars have died during my lifetime, but Phil's is among those I remember most. (Jim Henson is another. Also Sydney Pollack, for obvious reasons.)
I remember sitting at the computer and clicking on AOL to connect to the Internet. (Ha! How young we were then...) In the home screen AOL served up, I noticed Phil's picture, alongside a headline like "Remembering Phil Hartman." My stomach immediately did a flip, but I wouldn't let myself believe it. Surely it was someone's list of favorite SNL sketches, with an unfortunate choice of wording.
I was wrong about that. Very, very sad. I'm sure my reaction would have been different if I weren't addicted to NewsRadio, but then if I hadn't watched that show avidly I would have missed a lot of his greatest work. Plenty of people (famous or not) die early, and it's always a shame. In Hartman's case, he was completely innocent. Chris Farley's passing is easier to comprehend in that way; Phil Hartman's was just unfair. I'm amazed it's already been a decade.
Today also marks the 18-month anniversary of my Uncle Bob's passing. I hope it doesn't seem like I miss Phil more. I just miss him differently. Bobby was like Phil in some ways (but not most): an oversized personality, warm and generous to those close to him, and very funny. Fare thee well, boys. We're not the same without you.
