HOLLYWOOD -- Phil Hartman's NewsRadio castmates will bid him an on-air farewell in the series' first episode this fall.

The Sept. 23 show will open with the show's radio station employees learning that Hartman's character, anchorman Bill McNeal, has suffered a fatal heart attack.

"They will attend a service for him and they will have a chance to celebrate and mourn the loss of Bill MacNeal and, of course, Phil Hartman," NBC Entertainment division president Warren Littlefield said yesterday.

Hartman was murdered here eight weeks ago by his wife, who then killed herself.

Littlefield predicted the tribute episode will be an entertaining, irreverent reflection of the actors' grief

"They really couldn't go back to work without almost a formal process on that stage of being able to deal with the loss of Phil. That was very important to them," he said.

"He was the Daddy on the set. He was more than just an actor."

Hartman is being replaced on the sitcom by close friend Jon Lovitz. At a recent memorial service here, Hartman's mother publicly gave Lovitz her blessing for taking the part. He will play the station's popular but insecure new on-air staffer, a character to be introduced in the Sept. 30 episode.


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