art

There is [a thread] to Hartman’s story, a chapter of public life that’s far less recognized than his indelible screen presence. It picks up long before his charismatic rise to the peak of comedy, when Hartman was more class clown than class act, a Canadian kid moving about the United States. Still going by Hartmann, his birth name, Phil graduated from Westchester High in Los Angeles, taking up art at Santa Monica City College. He soon dropped out to become a roadie for local rock band Rockin’ Foo and, when the group needed art for their debut, his past as a visual art student made him a natural candidate for the job. The four-piece must’ve liked his work, as Hartmann illustrated — and signed — the art to both their first and second records.