COMEDIC CAREER SEEMED ON VERGE OF THE BIG TIME.

Byline: Reed Johnson Daily News Staff Writer

In the final years of his life Phil Hartman was beginning to taste the kind of big-time recognition that always seemed just out of reach.

After 11 years with the Los Angeles-based Groundlings improvisational comedy troupe and eight seasons on ``Saturday Night Live'' as a self-described ``utility player'' in the shadow of more famous colleagues like Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz, Hartman's star was rising.

The Emmy-winning comedy writer had attained celebrity as vainglorious newsman Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom ``NewsRadio,'' as the voice behind recurring characters on Fox TV's ``The Simpsons,'' and in a succession of progressively heftier character roles in movies like ``Jingle All the Way,'' ``Greedy'' and ``Sgt. Bilko.''

He also had acquired the perks of Hollywood success: a house in Encino with five fireplaces and a sunken Jacuzzi in the master bedroom suite, a Ferrari, and, at a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle and Tobango prop airplane. Two children and a glamorous former-model wife (Hartman's third marriage) rounded out the picture.

At fame's margins

Yet for a long time, the versatile and well-liked comedian retained an image of himself as a kind of neglected sibling upstaged by others. Though he prided himself on being a team player, Hartman occasionally confessed to feeling insecure as he watched friends vault to stardom while he labored at the margins of fame.

``I was a middle child and one of eight children, and I didn't get a lot of attention as a kid,'' Hartman told the Daily News in 1993. ``I somehow get a neurotic fulfillment out of applause and performing and being on a stage and also proving to myself that they like me.''

It was a theme that echoed through his life.

As friends and colleagues struggled Thursday to comprehend the news of his death, many praised Hartman's dedication and professionalism as well as his uncanny ability to mimic people as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Ronald Reagan, Barbara Bush, Phil Donahue and, most memorably, Bill Clinton.

``I'm sure it's the bromide you always hear when a tragedy like this happens, but he was a dream to work with,'' said director Joe Dante, who worked with Hartman on the HBO movie ``The Second Civil War'' and the forthcoming family adventure ``Small Soldiers.''

``Phil was a hilariously talented guy, a great ad-libber. He always brought more to the scene than was written on the page,'' Dante said.

Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC West Coast, issued a statement, saying the network staff was in mourning.

``Phil was blessed with a tremendous gift for creating characters that made people laugh. But more importantly, everyone who had the pleasure of working with Phil knows that he was a man of tremendous warmth, a true professional and a loyal friend who will be deeply missed.''

Encino's `sheriff'

The deaths came as a special blow in Encino, where Hartman had been dubbed honorary sheriff and was always willing to help out at neighborhood events.

``He was known as the kind of guy who just never said no,'' said Rob Glushon, president of the Encino Little League.

A screenwriter (``Pee-wee's Big Adventure''), graphic artist and improvisational comedian before producer Lorne Michaels tapped him for ``SNL'' in 1986, Hartman was a gifted entertainer. He won an Emmy in 1989 for his ``SNL'' writing.

Like fellow comedians Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy and Mike Meyers, he was born in Canada. Hartman grew up in Connecticut and Southern California.

``Even at Westchester High in West L.A., I was class clown,'' he remembered in a 1995 interview with The Associated Press. ``But I never seriously considered it as a career choice.''

He attended Santa Monica City College, then California State University, Northridge, in 1970, where he studied art and graphic design.

After college, Hartman set up a graphic-design business and created album covers for rock groups like Poco, America and Crosby, Stills and Nash. He had a lifelong passion for art, collecting 18th century British landscape paintings and frequenting estate auctions.

Playing president

At The Groundlings, Hartman formed a friendship with Paul Reubens, a k a Pee-wee Herman. The pair collaborated on the ``Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' script, leading Hartman to concentrate on screenwriting.

Then ``SNL'' came along. It was Hartman's 50-odd ``SNL'' impersonations that finally placed him in the pop culture consciousness, particularly his portrayal of a smarmy, junk food-bingeing Clinton. Hartman later received an autographed photo of Clinton, which reads: ``You're not the president, but you play one on TV (and you're OK, mostly).''

Daily News Staff Writers Keith Marder, Bob Strauss and Eric Leach contributed to this report.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Vicki Lewis and Phil Hartman perform a scene for NBC's comedy series ``NewsRadio'' in December 1996.

John McCoy/Daily News

(2 -- color) Steve Martin, left, Martin Short and Phil Hartman share a table at a pet adoption benefit in Santa Monica.

John McCoy/Daily News