Chris Farley

Chris Farley
File:Chrisfarley.jpg
Born	Christopher Crosby Farley
Occupation(s)	Actor, Comedian
Years active	1990-1998

Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American comedian and actor. He was a member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and later went on to join the cast of the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He starred in a string of successful comedic films in the 1990s before his death of a drug overdose in late 1997.

Early life

Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His family consists of three brothers (Tom Farley, Jr., and actors Kevin and John), his sister, Barbara, and his parents, Mary Anne, a homemaker, and Thomas, Sr., who owned an oil company. Jim Farley, group vice president for marketing and communication at Ford Motor Company, is his cousin. Chris graduated from Edgewood High School. 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 concentration in communications and theatre. Many of his summers were spent as a camper and as a counselor at Red Arrow Camp, outside of Minocqua, Wisconsin. After Marquette, 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.

Career

Saturday Night Live

Farley was one of two new SNL (Saturday Night Live) 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), one of the "Gap Girls" (who hung out together at a local mall), a stereotypical lunch lady (to the theme of Lunchlady 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.

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 started his film career making cameo appearances in several comedy films, including Wayne's World in 1992, Coneheads in 1993, Wayne's World 2 in 1993, 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 following the 1994-1995 season, Farley focused on his film career. His first two major films co-starred fellow SNL cast member 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 treatment and relapses.. After his sudden death in December 1997, his last completed films Almost Heroes and Dirty Work released posthumously.

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 3, 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.

• Dav Pilkey wanted to have Chris Farley play Captain Underpants on a show featuring him but he then gave up on the idea after Chris Farley's death.

• He was also supposed to be cast in "Blues Brothers 2000" after Jim Belushi backed out due to scheduling errors. After Farley's death they chose John Goodman for the role.

• Farley was also supposed to be in a more serious film about the life of Fatty Arbuckle. He was excited for this role not only because it reminded of his own life but would also try to give him credit for a serious actor.

• There were also rumours before his untimely death of a "Tommy Boy" sequel with best friend and two-time co-star David Spade.

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 had used 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. He went through treatment for alcohol and drug abuse 31 separate times starting in 1993, as well as numerous visits to weight reduction treatment centers.

On December 18, 1997, his younger brother John found Farley dead in his apartment on the sixtieth floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. He was 33 years old, coincidentally the same age Farley's idol John Belushi was when he died. His death had been attributed to obesity, alcohol, and drug addiction. His body was found foaming out of the mouth with his face purple and swollen. An autopsy revealed that Farley had overdosed while taking a "speedball", a dangerous combination of cocaine and heroine (the same way that Belushi died), with severe coronary atherosclerosis (his coronary arteries were almost completely blocked) as a contributing factor.

Funeral

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 five hundred people attended his funeral, and many of these were actors who worked with Farley in the past such as Adam Sandler, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, George Wendt, Norm Macdonald, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock and his wife. 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 Farley.

Honors

Farley has been memorialized in many different ways. On August 26, 2005, Farley 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.

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. This can be seen on the "Best of Chris Farley" SNL special.

On May 6, 2008, the biography of Chris Farley was published. The book, titled The Chris Farley Show (Viking Press) was written by Chris' brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby.

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

Television work

• Saturday Night Live (cast member from 1990-1995)
• Super Bowl XXXI reporter in New Orleans on The Tonight Show January 1997
• All That guest appearance March 1997 (Mint Condition)

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards

• 1997 - Best Comedic Performance (Beverly Hills Ninja) (Nominated)
• 1996 - Best On-Screen Duo with David Spade (Tommy Boy) (Won)
• 1996 - Best Comedic Performance (Tommy Boy) (Nominated)

External links

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

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