I heard about his murder early that morning. As I drove down the 5 Freeway to work (we used to live in SoCal), I looked up toward Encino and all I could think about was ‘Phil Hartman is laying up there and he’s dead’. Heartbreaking. I saw Leno that night, and his voice was cracking as he spoke about his good friend Phil. Apparently, Phil had taken on the moniker the ‘Sheriff of Encino’ and he used to speak to Jay at night and tell him ‘all is quiet in Encino tonight’. A great talent lost at the hand of his druggie wife.
I live over in Glendale, and I know that area of Encino enough to picture where his home was. I think we both had about the same reaction. What a shame...
I’d rank him among the top ten comedians I’ve enjoyed. If he did slip below ten it wasn’t by much, and certainly above 20th.
Because he died in his prime like that, it seemed like so much more of a loss.
I liked Jack Benny, George Gobel, George Burns, Carson, Bob Hope,... and it was sad to see them go. It was time for them to go. They’d never be forgotten, but it was their time. (I’d say Carson was a bit premature, certainly a surprise.)
Oh well...