Chris Farley

Chris Farley
File:Chrisfarley.jpg
Born	Christopher Crosby Farley
Years active	1990–1997

Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian.

Farley was a cast member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and achieved his greatest fame as a cast member on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He starred in a string of moderately successful comedic films such as Almost Heroes before his death in late 1997.

Early life

Chris Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His family consists of three brothers (Tom, Jr., and actors Kevin and John), his sister, Barbara, and his parents, Mary Anne and Tom, Sr. Chris graduated from Edgewood High School (Wisconsin). During one homecoming at Edgewood, Farley became famous for his prank of releasing 3 pigs into the school, numbered 1, 2, and 4. The search for pig number three lasted weeks. He also attended La Lumiere School in Indiana for one semester in his junior year, after a brief suspension for misbehavior. He then went on to graduate from Marquette University in 1986 with a degree in communications and theatre. After graduating, he worked with his father at the Scotch Oil Company in Madison. Chris got his start in professional comedy at the Ark Improv Theatre in Madison and the Improv Olympic theater in Chicago. He then went on to perform at Chicago's Second City Theatre. He was initially part of Second City's touring group, but was eventually promoted to their main stage. While working at Second City, he was discovered by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.

Saturday Night Live

Farley was one of two new SNL cast members announced in the spring of 1990, the other being Chris Rock. On the show, Farley frequently collaborated with fellow cast members David Spade, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, and Rob Schneider, among others. This group came to be known as the "Bad Boys of SNL". Popular characters performed by Farley included an over-the-top motivational speaker named Matt Foley (who constantly reminded characters that he lived in "a van down by the river"), Todd O'Connor of Bill Swerski's Superfans (a group of stereotypical Chicagoans who constantly yell out "da Bears!"), a Chippendale's dancer(in a famous skit that paired him with guest host Patrick Swayze), a "Gap Girl" (who hung out with friends at a local mall), a stereotypical lunch lady (to the theme of Lunch Lady Land performed by Adam Sandler) and Bennett Brauer (a Weekend Update commentator who would often divulge his personal and hygienic problems via air quotes). Some of these characters were brought to SNL from his days at Second City. Farley also performed impersonations of Tom Arnold, (who gave the eulogy at his funeral), Andrew Giuliani, Jerry Garcia, Meat Loaf, Norman Schwarzkopf, Roger Ebert, Carnie Wilson, and Newt Gingrich who invited Farley down to Washington, D.C. He was best friends with Adam Sandler.

Off-screen, Farley was well-known for his pranks in the offices of Saturday Night Live. A March 13, 1995 New York Magazine article references Farley and Adam Sandler making late-night prank phone calls from the SNL offices in Rockefeller Center, with Sandler speaking in an old woman's voice and Farley then farting into the phone, as well as Farley mooning cars from a limousine.

Film career

Farley made cameo appearances in several comedy films, including Wayne's World in 1992, Coneheads in 1993, Wayne's World 2 in 1993 (playing a different character than he did in the first film), Airheads in 1994, and Adam Sandler's Billy Madison in 1995. After Farley and most of his fellow cast members were released from their contracts at Saturday Night Live after its 1994-1995 season, Farley focused on his film career. His first two major films co-starred his SNL cohort and close friend David Spade. Together, the duo made the films Tommy Boy (which was named after his new born nephew) and Black Sheep in consecutive years 1995 and 1996. These two films were successes at the domestic box office, earning around $32 million each and gaining a large cult following on home video. These films established Farley as a relatively bankable star and he was given the sole leading role in 1997's Beverly Hills Ninja, which finished in first place at the box office on its opening weekend. However, drug and alcohol problems began interfering with his work and during the filming of his final film, Almost Heroes with Matthew Perry, shooting was stopped several times for Farley's disease treatment and relapses.

Farley was popular with young audiences not only as a physical comedian but also as a comic actor, but few critics warmed to him. Only Tommy Boy was met with any degree of critical acclaim.

Unfinished projects

Farley had recorded vocals for the title character in the Dreamworks film Shrek, but his death necessitated that the role be recast. He was replaced by his former SNL castmate Mike Myers.

He was supposed to be cast in Ghostbusters III, when the film was in development to have three new ghostbusters take on an overpopulation in hell. Farley's death extended the film's development hell.

Chris Farley was also originally going to play The Cable Guy in the 1996 film The Cable Guy. The script was originally written for him but Farley was re-cast by Jim Carrey.

Death

In early 1997, a decline in Chris Farley’s health was frequently noted in the press. Following his guest appearance on SNL for the last time on October 25, 1997, his hoarse voice and apparent perspiration were the subject of public scrutiny. A tabloid later reported that Farley had been drinking heavily during rehearsal week and utilized an oxygen tank. Other reports claimed that Farley required almost constant care while filming on the set of Almost Heroes. Actor Matthew Perry has since said this is untrue and Farley was sober on set.

Obesity and substance abuse contributed to Farley’s death at age 33. On December 18, 1997, his younger brother John found Chris dead in his apartment on the 60th floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. An autopsy revealed that Farley had overdosed on a dangerous combination of cocaine and morphine (often referred to as a “Speedball”) with coronary atherosclerosis as a contributing factor.

Farley’s funeral was held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 23, 1997. He was buried in Resurrection Cemetery, also located in Madison, Wisconsin. Over 500 people attended his funeral, and many of these were actors who worked with Farley in the past. Attending their friend's funeral proved to be unbearable for some; most notably absent was his former SNL castmate and frequent film co-star David Spade. Spade was later quoted as saying that he did not attend Farley's funeral because he "could not be in a room where Chris was in a box." However, Spade did appear on the special 25th Anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live to call for a moment of remembrance for Chris.

Chris Farley has been memorialized in many different ways. On August 26th, 2005, Chris was awarded the 2,289th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located in front of Improv Olympic West. In Adam Sandler's 2000 film Little Nicky, Little Nicky's mother, an angel played by Reese Witherspoon, is mentioned at the end of the film to be dating her new fitness instructor in Heaven, who turns out to be Chris Farley.

Many have drawn a tragic parallel between Farley and his often-proclaimed idol and former SNL castmember John Belushi. Both lived hard and fast lives, and both died in similar manners at only 33 years of age.

In his book Gasping for Airtime, former castmember Jay Mohr recalled a surreal moment involving Farley and fellow castmember Phil Hartman. In the SNL cast's goodbye song-and-dance performance to Hartman, the final scene featured Farley (in his Matt Foley costume) and Hartman embracing each other as the latter sang "Goodbye" to the camera. They died within six months of each other.

Filmography

• 1. Wayne's World (1992)
• 2. Coneheads (1993)
• 3. Wayne's World 2 (1993)
• 4. Airheads (1994)
• 5. Billy Madison (1995) — Uncredited
• 6. Tommy Boy (1995)
• 7. Black Sheep (1996)
• 8. Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
• 9. Almost Heroes (1998) — Posthumously Released
• 10. Dirty Work (1998) — Posthumously Released

Chris Farley also was meant to be the voice actor of DreamWork's Shrek, but died before filming started.

Television Work

• Saturday Night Live (cast member from 1990-1995)

External links

• Chris Farley at IMDb
• Chris Farley Foundation
• Chris Farley Animations
• Maxim Rated Top SNL performer