Song:You Bet Your Life
Album:Flat TV
Phil Hartman was a very talented guy best known for his 80s run on Saturday Night Live. And his 1998 murder. He recorded this album in the late 70s and it went unreleased until 2002. Now there are plans to turn it into an animated film. He was born Feb. 24, 1948 in Brantford, ON. His family moved to the US and Hartman went to high school in Los Angeles. He studied art in college and also worked as a roadie for bands. He opened a graphic arts studio and he became known for designing album covers and band logos. On 1975 he joined The Groundlings comedy group. It was while he was in The Groundlings that he recorded Flat TV. It's supposed to be a day of 1950s TV. So it's a series of audio sketches similar to what National Lampoon was doing on radio. Hartman performs all the voices. It looks like it was recorded for George Carlin's Little David label but it sat on the shelf until Carlin released it on laugh.com in 2002. A few years ago Hartman's brother John Hartmann discovered the Flat TV master tapes and he licensed the album to the reissue label Rockbeat. And he is producing an animated film with director Brian LeMay and there are several clips online including You Bet Your Life. Of course this was recorded before Hartman had success first with Pee Wee Herman and then Saturday Night Live. And he did plenty of voice work especially on The Simpsons. His impression of President Bill Clinton was notable. And he was on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. Sadly Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife Brynn after an argument about her drug abuse on May 27, 1998. Hartman was one of the nice guys of the entertainment business and an underrated talent. If he had lived, he would still be successful performing, writing or designing. Here's the video for You Bet Your Life by Phil Hartman directed by Brian LeMay for the proposed Flat TV film.
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