Dave: "Why do you have to be so difficult?" Bill: "I’m just trying to toughen up the little lady." Dave: "Bill, Lisa is not a little lady. All right?" Lisa: "Bill! What are you doing? I said, "My office!"" Bill: "Sorry, Dave was just trying to set me straight on your weight problem." Lisa: "My what?" ("Who’s the Boss (Part 1)" [4-12])

"Have you ever heard the expression, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and then throw it in the face of the person who gave you the lemons until they give you the oranges you originally asked for?’" – Bill McNeal ("Airport" [3-17])

Phil Hartman belongs in the John Belushi class of Saturday Night Live graduates. Like Belushi, he was that rarity — a genuinely funny comedian whose style was restrained enough to not have to ‘chew up the scenery’ to get his comedy across. With Bill McNeal, it was not so much what he said as the way he said it. Bill had few lines that, taken out of context, were absurdly funny. It is an indication of Hartman’s supreme comic talent and the subtlety of his acting that he did not need them and could make the simplest line hilarious. Moreover, so commanding and smoothly assured were Hartman’s comedic skills that he could always be counted on to be funny in any scene.

During his time on NewsRadio, Phil Hartman gave us such a deep and thorough portrayal of Bill McNeal that the character has become one of the supreme comedic creations to ever grace the screen. Bill McNeal was so fascinating, as well as being funny, that no matter how many sides of this character we saw they were all integrated into a remarkably singular whole. How do we even begin to describe the great Bill McNeal? There is a scene from "Security Door" [4-14] that makes a good starting point. In this scene, Bill, who normally never fails to brim with confidence, uncharacteristically becomes timid when he has to do a television commercial, and Lisa has to remind him of exactly who he is.

Bill McNeal was highly intelligent, as demonstrated by his immense articulateness, but in other ways paradoxically ‘stupid.’ A comical Bill McNeal trademark was his tendency to interpret what someone says literally. In "Security Door," to the consternation of Dave, Bill is taping the latch to the security door so that he can go to the bathroom.

In addition, Bill displayed a unique obliviousness to the concerns of others. "Airport" [3-17] provides a clarion example of how callous Bill could be towards others as he mercilessly derides a friendly and ingenuous stranger at the St. Louis airport. Furthermore, only a man who is completely shameless about his greed would seek and accept a raise so massive that Mr. James has to get rid of all the office furniture just to balance the budget ("Twins" [3-18]). The staff becomes so angry with him that he eventually turns to Dave for solace.

Similarly, Bill was so egocentric that everything he said came across with utmost conviction, whether it was another mangled historical fact or a ‘happy’ reminiscence of his dysfunctional upbringing. Virtually nothing shook Bill, and those episodes where he was shaken (for example, "Bill’s Autobiography" [2-7], "Look Who’s Talking" [4-10], and "Security Door"[4-14]) are privileged glimpses of his vulnerable alter ego.

Bill McNeal’s towering egocentricity was also the spark that started the show’s comedic fires. His officious intrusions into the affairs of Dave and Lisa always seemed to turn up the sexual heat, and he was constantly inciting Catherine enough that she would have to put him in his place. The Bill-Catherine encounters in particular had an edge of danger that made them even more exciting. (Matthew was also relentlessly victimized by Bill, but he was too easy a target and was less fun than Catherine, Dave or Lisa.)

Bill’s articulate speech and commanding vocabulary were the tools by which to soften the edges of the Bill McNeal character. He may have been aggravating, but we loved him from the start. Bill McNeal had a heart, even if it was well hidden. It is a testament to Hartman’s acting that he could shift to being compassionate in "Bitch Session" [2-12], "Led Zeppelin Boxed Set" [3-13] or "Look Who’s Talking" without ever stepping out of character. In addition, at the times when NewsRadio had to show us some heart, this often had to be done, surprisingly, through Bill McNeal. Beth, as the most compassionate character, helped out with this, but it really took an actor of Phil Hartman’s stature to achieve the balanced turns of character to dramatically change callousness into feeling without being sentimental. "Bitch Session" provides a surprising and moving example. In this episode, Dave is deeply hurt by his staff’s bitching about him. When it appears that Mr. James plans to replace Dave because of this, Bill comes to his defense with a simple but eloquent statement.

Indeed those dimensions were always there, and every time they were revealed they might have surprised us a little but they never rang false. In short, Bill McNeal was a complex but complete comic creation of the highest order.

Phil Hartman was tragically killed by his wife after the fourth season, and the show never fully recovered from his loss. His absence made clear just how much we had lost by his passing. There never was and probably never will be another character like Bill McNeal. The same can be said about Phil Hartman. He was the third pillar of the NewsRadio cast.