LOS ANGELES -- To Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman was more than a longtime comedy partner on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1980s, more even than a friend so close they often spent Thanksgiving and other holidays together.
"He was like my older brother," Lovitz said, a sentiment he repeated many times in a choked voice during an interview.For Lovitz, the anguish of Hartman's death last May, when, according to the police, he was killed in his home by his wife, Brynn, who later shot herself to death, was compounded by an emotional conflict when he was asked to replace Hartman as the star of the NBC series "NewsRadio."
He joined the series Oct. 7 in its second episode of the season. The first episode dealt with the rest of the cast's reaction to the death of Hartman's character, Bill McNeal. Lovitz joined the staff of the fictional New York radio station WNYX as Max Lewis, who will be described as a close friend of Bill McNeal.
While Lovitz now says he believes his joining the show is "comforting to me and the rest of the cast," the decision did not come lightly.
"The day after Phil died I was at a friend's house," Lovitz said. "Everybody was devastated and really in shock." Somebody in the group noted that Hartman left behind some continuing roles, including his starring role in "NewsRadio." Lovitz turned to Brad Grey, his manager and one of the executive producers of "NewsRadio."
"I said to Brad: 'They better not come to me to replace Phil,' " Lovitz said. "The show wasn't doing that well, and I just thought me joining it would be manipulative. I thought I'd be profiting from his death. And I didn't want to face the fact that he was gone. So I said it to Brad, never thinking they would offer it to me in a million years. I didn't even think they should continue with the show."
But the offer did come, in a discussion with the show's creator, Paul Simms. "Paul just said to me: 'I don't know what to tell you. You're his friend. It feels right. Everybody in the cast wants you.' "
The harsh reality was that Lovitz was looking for a new television role. Only weeks earlier he had starred in a pilot for an ABC comedy, one in which Hartman showed up for his guest appearance a day after his father died despite Lovitz's assurances that he could be replaced. When ABC did not order a series from the pilot, Lovitz said he had decided to "hook up on a show on NBC."
This was hardly the way he wanted to join a show, he said. "At first I thought people are going to say he's only there because Phil got murdered -- and now let's be funny!"
At a memorial service, Hartman's mother approached Lovitz. "His mother said to me, 'Thank you for picking up the flag.' When she said that, I breathed a huge sigh of relief."
Lovitz met Hartman in 1984, when they were members of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy group called the Groundlings. "Phil had been there for like 10 years," Lovitz said. "He was the king of the Groundlings."
Among other things, the two began working together on sketches centering on one of Hartman's signature characters, Chick Hearn, a 1940s-style detective. Lovitz loved the speaking style of old movie characters and, in fooling around with another friend, developed his signature character, the Liar.
The character helped him win a spot on "Saturday Night Live" in 1985. "It was the biggest break I ever had," Lovitz said. He remembered walking into the show's offices and seeing photos of prospective cast members piled in knee-high stacks. "And I thought: How did I ever get out of those stacks?"
After his first season, "Saturday Night" executive producer Lorne Michaels asked Lovitz to recommend new cast members. He pushed for Hartman, of course.
Michaels offered Hartman a spot, but he turned the job down, only to be talked into reconsidering by Lovitz and other friends.
"Phil was very laid back. He wasn't competitive," Lovitz said. "Once he got there, of course, he was great for the show. He could do anything. It was really great having him there. We wrote a lot of things together."
After five years, Lovitz moved on to films ("A League of Their Own"); Hartman stayed on at "Saturday Night Live" for four more seasons. The two men remained close. Lovitz was one of few people invited to Hartman's wedding in 1988. He remained an intimate friend throughout the marriage, which is one reason Lovitz said he was upset by news coverage after Hartman's death that included interviews with people who identified themselves as friends of the Hartmans.
"There were all these people dredging up dirt," Lovitz said. "I can tell you I've never seen any of these people in the 14 years I knew Phil and the 10 years I knew Brynn.
"Real friends don't talk about any of this. These people are just profiteers on murder. They're trying to get famous over this."
Lovitz says he wants Hartman's memory to be celebrated by friends and fans and that's why he joined "NewsRadio."
Lovitz said he insisted that his character be written as one of Hartman's character's closest friends so the recollections of him would be heartfelt, for character and actor.
"I'm really happy to be there and everything," Lovitz said. "And then I see a box with his clothes in the hallway or a picture of him. They had taken this picture of him down and I told them, 'Leave it there.' I'd give up everything to have Phil back. It's like the most horrible thing. Now I want everybody to look at me in the show and just think it's him."