About (General Information)

What is a fanlisting?

Essentially, a fanlisting is exactly what its name implies: a list of fans. Fanlistings exist for many, many subjects: movies, music, foods, tv shows, actors (as in this case), and just about anything else one could be a fan of. It's a place where fans have their name and country listed (and, optionally, their website link and email address), just as a way of saying "hey, I'm a fan of ____, too!" It's a nice way to see how many people out there are fans of the same things as you (and in the case of more obscure things, it helps you feel less weird... ha ha).

This particular listing is for fans of the late comic genius Phil Hartman. Whether you love his work on Saturday Night Live, NewsRadio, his many voices on The Simpsons, his films, his graphic arts work, his writing, his album "FlatTV," or anything/everything else... this is the place for you.

For more about fanlistings, or to find others to join, visit thefanlistings.org. For more about the man himself, please visit the Phil section.


What's with the name?

When I had a fanlisting for Phil many years ago, it was called Chameleon. Unfortunately, several other fanlistings or fansites for actors (male or female) are named Chameleon, so I wanted something more uniquely Phil. Potato Head Syndrome comes from a quote from Phil, about himself. He was talking about being well-known and yet still kind of anonymous at the same time, because of the characters he played.

"I benefit from the Mr. Potato Head syndrome. Put a wig and a nose and glasses on me, and I disappear."
The quote always stuck with me. I decided to leave off the "Mr." from Potato Head, just because I liked the look of it better this way.

How/when did you become a fan?

Like most people of my age group (teenagers in the 1990s), I watched Phil on Saturday Night Live. I was very, very into SNL during the Phil era (especially 1990-93) and he was my favorite cast member by a long road. I started noticing his name on The Simpsons, also, which was my favorite show at the time. Eventually, I started seeking him out and saw more of his work (I also reached an age where I paid more attention to credits and realized he was involved in things I'd loved as a child -- such as the Pee-Wee Herman franchise).

His death in 1998 was absolutely devastating to me. I was... traumatized, almost, as if someone had victimized me personally. It was very hard to take. Sadly, I think it took his death to make me fully appreciate and research more of what he had given the world.