Editing Phil Hartman (section)

===''The Simpsons'' (1991–1998)===
Hartman provided the [[voice actor|voices]] for numerous characters on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] animated series ''[[The Simpsons]]'', appearing in 52 episodes.<ref name="ew"/> He made his first appearance in the [[The Simpsons (season 2)|second season]] episode "[[Bart Gets Hit by a Car]]". Although he was originally brought in for a one-time appearance, Hartman enjoyed working on ''The Simpsons'' and the staff wrote additional parts for him. He voiced the recurring characters [[Lionel Hutz]] and [[Troy McClure]], as well as several background characters.<ref>[[Matt Groening|Groening, Matt]]; [[James L. Brooks|Brooks, James L.]]; [[Al Jean|Jean, Al]]; [[Nancy Cartwright|Cartwright, Nancy]]. (2003). Commentary for "[[Bart the Murderer]]", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> His favorite part was that of McClure,<ref name=nice/> and he often used this voice to entertain the audience between takes while taping episodes of ''NewsRadio''. He remarked, "My favorite fans are Troy McClure fans."<ref name="bottle">{{cite news |author=Rohan |first=Virginia |date=1998-02-24 |title=Out of the Bottle—Along With Many Amusing Characters, Phil Hartman of 'Newsradio' Unleashes the Rare Exception |page=Y-01 |work=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]}}</ref> He added "It's the one thing that I do in my life that's almost an avocation. I do it for the pure love of it."<ref>{{cite news|title=No raise ... no big deal|date=May 11, 1998|page=1|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref>

Hartman was popular among the staff of ''The Simpsons''. [[Showrunners]] [[Bill Oakley]] and [[Josh Weinstein]] said they enjoyed his work, and used him as much as possible when working on the show. To give Hartman a larger role, they developed the episode "[[A Fish Called Selma]]", which focuses on Troy McClure and expands the character's backstory.<ref name="fcs">[[Josh Weinstein|Weinstein, Josh]]; [[Bill Oakley|Oakley, Bill]]; [[David Silverman (animator)|Silverman, David]]; [[Jeff Goldblum|Goldblum, Jeff]]. (2006). Commentary for "[[A Fish Called Selma]]", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox</ref> ''The Simpsons'' creator [[Matt Groening]] said that he "took [Hartman] for granted because he nailed the joke every time",<ref name="ew"/> and that his voice acting could produce "the maximum amount of humor" with any line he was given.<ref name="inter"/> Before his death, Hartman had expressed an interest in making a [[live action]] film about Troy McClure. Many of ''The Simpsons'' production staff expressed enthusiasm for the project and offered to help.<ref>Oakley, Bill. (2006). Commentary for "[[Homerpalooza]]", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox</ref> Hartman said he was "looking forward to [McClure's] live-action movie, publicizing his [[Betty Ford clinic|Betty Ford]] appearances",<ref name="jerk"/> and "would love nothing more" than making a film and was prepared to buy the film rights himself in order to make it happen.<ref name=nice/>