Died at 77
male
Philip Edward Hartman (né Hartmann; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a cast member, and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in supporting roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. However, their marriage was troubled due to his busy work schedule and her drug and alcohol abuse. In 1998, while Hartman was sleeping in his bed, Omdahl shot and killed him, and later killed herself. In the weeks following his murder, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". He was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014.
Phil Hartman
Champion "Champ" Kind
for Champion "Champ" Kind in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (1994)
Suggested by batboy1999
what if "Anchorman" made 10 years earlier. Synopsis: In 1964, Ron Burgundy is the famous anchorman for a local San Diego television station, fictional KVWN channel 4. He works alongside his friends, whom he had known since childhood, on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana, sportscaster Champ Kind, and intellectually-disabled, but loyal and good-hearted weatherman Brick Tamland. Station director Ed Harken informs the team that they have retained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party, where Ron unsuccessfully attempts to pick up a beautiful blonde woman, Veronica Corningstone. Ed later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Veronica Corningstone, the same woman Ron attempted to pick up. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally relents and agrees to a "professional tour" of the city with Ron, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Ron announces it on air as well as shouting about it in the office. After a dispute with a motorcyclist ends in Ron's dog Baxter being punted off the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, Ron is late to work. Veronica fills in for him on-air, gets higher ratings than Burgundy normally gets, and the couple breaks up. Veronica is promoted co-anchor, to the disgust of the team, and both co-anchors become fierce rivals on and off the air. Depressed, the news team decides to buy new suits, but Brick, who was leading the way, gets them lost in a shady part of town. Confronted by main competitor Wes Mantooth and his news team, Ron challenges them to a fight. However, when several other news teams converge onsite, a full-on melee ensues, only to be broken up by police sirens that cause them to flee. Realizing that having a female co-anchor is straining their reputation, Ron gets in another heated argument with Veronica, and they get in a physical fight after she offends him about his hair, further increasing tensions. One of Veronica's co-workers informs her that Ron will read anything written on the teleprompter, so she sneaks into the station and changes the text in revenge. The next day, Ron (unaware of what he is saying) concludes the broadcast with "Go to hell, San Diego!", instead of his signature closing line, "You stay classy, San Diego!", subsequently triggering an angry mob outside the studio and prompting Ed to fire Ron. Realizing she went too far, Veronica attempts to apologize, but Burgundy angrily dismisses her. Burgundy becomes unemployed, friendless, and heavily antagonized by the public while Veronica enjoys fame, although her male co-workers hate her. Ed also informs Champ, Brick, and Brian that if they see Ron they may not speak with him or they will be fired. Three months later, when a panda is about to give birth, every news team in San Diego rushes to the zoo to cover the story. In an attempt to sabotage her, a rival news anchor pushes Veronica into a Kodiak bear enclosure. When Ed could not locate Veronica, he recruits Ron. Once at the zoo, Ron jumps in the bear pen to save Veronica, as the public watches helplessly. The news team then jumps in to save Ron and Veronica. Just as a bear is about to attack, Baxter, who miraculously survived, intervenes and encourages the bear to spare them. As the group climbs out of the pit, Wes appears and holds the ladder over the bear pit, threatening to drop Ron back in, and says that deep down he has always hated him, but then admits to Ron that he also respects him and pulls Ron out to safety. After Ron and Veronica reconcile, it is shown that in years to come, Brian becomes the host of a Fox reality show named Intercourse Island, Brick is married with 11 children and is a top political adviser to George W. Bush, Champ is a commentator for the NFL before getting fired after being accused by Terry Bradshaw of sexual harassment, and Ron and Veronica are co-anchors for the CNN-esque World News Center.
