Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2025
Phil LaMarr is an actor, best known for his roles on the animated shows Futurama, Family Guy, and Samurai Jack, as well as the live action sketch comedy series Mad TV.
To listen to the interview with Phil LaMarr, click the play button below (or click here to open the audio player in a new tab/window).
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) takes place at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. from April 11 through April 13, 2025.
The 2025 guest lineup includes not only Phil LaMarr, but several of his Futurama costars, as well as many others.
More information, including a full guest list and ticket availability, can be found on the C2E2 website.
Mike Reflects
While I am, like many others, a fan of Phil's work on Futurama and Family Guy, the first thing I think of is his role on an episode of Murphy Brown.
Talking to Phil about his appearance on the show reminded me of the time I met his Justice League costar, the late, great Kevin Conroy, at a convention. While everyone was lining up to tell him how great he was as Batman—which he certainly was—I opted to change things up and tell him how much I liked him as a television network executive on, you guessed it, Murphy Brown.
Like Phil's reaction, it didn't seem like he heard that too often.
For as big as that show was back in the day—and it was huge, with characters played by a "Who's Who" of comedic actors like Phil—it seems best known today, especially to people my age, as a reference from Seinfeld as a bit they don't get with a payoff they don't remember.
Even with the attempt to reboot it just a few years ago, it still feels like an obscure reference, and interviews like this seem like one of the few opportunities I get to talk about it (albeit briefly) without people staring at me trying to figure out what the heck I'm talking about, which is a real shame.
I don't know who decides that shows like Seinfeld should get to live on in syndication, airing several times a day on cable (not to mention a streaming presence), garnering a younger and evolving fanbase, while performances from Phil, Kevin, and a boatload of others (including Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Leslie Jordan, and literally too many to name) on a show that's equally deserving exist only to those who know they exist.
I certainly have a tendency to recognize actors from minor projects that the average person never thinks about, if they've ever even heard of them in the first place.
But I don't think a show like Murphy Brown should be among them. It deserves its place in the cultural zeitgeist of today.