| Chris Farley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher Crosby Farley February 15, 1964 , U.S. |
| Died | December 18, 1997 (aged 33) , U.S. |
| Occupation | comedian, actor |
| Years active | 1989–1997 |
Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's The Second City Theatre[1] and the cast of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He also starred in a string of successful comedy films in the 1990s including Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja before his death on December 18, 1997 in his Chicago apartment of cardiac arrest caused by a drug overdose.[2]
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Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Anne (née Crosby), a homemaker, and Thomas "Tom" Farley, Sr., who owned an oil company.[3][4] He had three brothers, Tom, Jr., Kevin and John, and a sister, Barbara. His cousin, Jim Farley, is a vice president at Ford Motor Company.[5][6] Farley's family are traditionally Irish Catholic, and Farley attended Catholic schools in his hometown, including Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart. According to Joel Murray, a fellow Second City cast member, Chris would "always make it to Mass".[7] Many of his summers were spent as a camper and counselor at Red Arrow Camp, near Minocqua, Wisconsin.
Farley graduated from Marquette University in 1986, with a concentration in communications and theater.[8] After college, he worked with his father at the Scotch Oil Company in Madison.[9] He got his start in professional comedy at the Ark Improv Theatre in Madison, and at the Improv Olympic theater in Chicago. He then performed at Chicago's Second City Theatre, initially as part of Second City's touring group. He was eventually promoted to their main stage. While working at Second City, he was discovered by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.[10]
Along with Chris Rock, Farley was one of two new SNL (Saturday Night Live) cast members announced in the spring of 1990.[4][10] On the show, Farley frequently collaborated with SNL 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".[11] Popular characters performed by Farley included himself on "The Chris Farley Show", a talk show in which Farley quite often "interviewed" the guest, got very nervous and asked simple-minded or irrelevant questions, such as what their favorite rock band was; "Matt Foley", an over-the-top motivational speaker who constantly reminded other characters that he "lived in a van, down by the river";[12] Todd O'Connor of Bill Swerski's Superfans, a group of stereotypical Chicagoans who constantly shout "da Bears!";,[13] a Chippendale's dancer, in a famous sketch that paired him with guest host Patrick Swayze;[14] 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;[15] and Bennett Brauer, a Weekend Update commentator who often divulged 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 Farley's eulogy at his funeral; Andrew Giuliani, Jerry Garcia, Meat Loaf, Norman Schwarzkopf, Dom DeLuise, Roger Ebert, Carnie Wilson, Newt Gingrich, Mindy Cohn, Hank Williams Jr., and Rush Limbaugh.[16]
Off-screen, Farley was well-known for his pranks in the offices of Saturday Night Live. A March 13, 1995, New York magazine article refers to 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 farting into the phone, as well as Farley mooning cars from a limousine.[17][18] Sandler told Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show that NBC fired him and Farley from the show in 1995.[19]
During his tenure on Saturday Night Live, Farley made cameo appearances in the comedy films Wayne's World, Coneheads, Airheads, and Billy Madison. He also appeared in the Red Hot Chili Peppers music video for "Soul to Squeeze" which was a song featured on the Coneheads soundtrack.
After Farley and most of his fellow cast members were released from their contracts at Saturday Night Live following the 1994-1995 season, Farley began focusing on his film career. His first two major films co-starred his fellow SNL colleague and close friend David Spade. Together, the duo made the films Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. These were a success at the domestic box office, earning around $32 million each and gaining a large cult following on home video.[20][21] They established Farley as a relatively bankable star and he was given the title role of Beverly Hills Ninja, which finished in first place at the box office on its opening weekend.[22] However, drug and alcohol problems began interfering with Farley's work, and production of his final film, Almost Heroes, was held up several times so Farley could attend rehab.[23] After his sudden death on December 18, 1997, his final completed films, Almost Heroes and Dirty Work, were released posthumously, and paid tribute to him in the end credits.
Farley had recorded vocals for the title character of the DreamWorks animated film Shrek, but his death necessitated that the role be recast. He was replaced by his SNL peer Mike Myers. He was also planning a Matt Foley film with his colleague David Spade. At the time of his death, Farley had also been in talks to co-star with Vince Vaughn in the film The Gelfin and also to star in a biopic film about Fatty Arbuckle.[24]
By early 1997, a decline in Farley's health was frequently noted in the press. Following his final guest appearance on SNL on October 25,[25] his hoarse voice, continual perspiration and flushed skin were the subject of public scrutiny.[26][27] In the years before his death, Farley had sought treatment for obesity and drug abuse on seventeen separate occasions.[28] On December 18, Farley was found dead by his younger brother John in his apartment in the John Hancock Center in Chicago.[29] An autopsy later revealed that Farley had died of cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of a combination of cocaine and morphine early that morning.[30] Advanced atherosclerosis was cited as a "significant contributing factor".[23] His death is often compared to John Belushi, who, like Farley, was a member of The Second City and starred in Saturday Night Live, and who died at aged 33 of a drug overdose involving cocaine and opiates.[14]
Farley's private funeral was held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin five days later. Over five hundred people attended his funeral, many of the actors and comedians who had worked with him on Saturday Night Live and on film, including Phil Hartman (who would also meet a tragic end five months later), Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser, Joe Mantegna, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Buscemi, Mike Myers, Christopher Walken, John Goodman, Eugene Levy, George Wendt, Norm Macdonald, Holly Wortell, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, and Tom Arnold.[31] Notable absent at Farley's private funeral was former SNL castmate and frequent film co-star David Spade, who was later quoted as saying that he declined to attend Farley's private funeral because he "could not be in a room where Chris was in a box."[16] However, Spade did appear on the special 25th anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live to call for a moment of remembrance for Farley. Farley was entombed at the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.
On August 26, 2005, Farley was awarded the 2,289th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located in front of iO West.[32] In the book Gasping for Airtime, former cast member Jay Mohr recalled a moment involving Farley and his SNL colleague 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.[33] This was seen on the "Best of Chris Farley" SNL special, but omitted from video versions of the special. The authorized biography of Farley, The Chris Farley Show, was written by his brother Tom, Jr. and Tanner Colby.[34] The Australian hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods wrote their song in Farley's honor in their album, State Of The Art.
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Wayne's World | Security Guard | |
| 1993 | Coneheads | Ronnie the Mechanic | |
| Wayne's World 2 | Milton | ||
| 1994 | Airheads | Officer Wilson | |
| 1995 | Billy Madison | Bus Driver | Uncredited |
| Tommy Boy | Thomas "Tommy" Callahan Jr. | MTV Movie Awards Best On-Screen Duo (Shared with David Spade) | |
| 1996 | Black Sheep | Mike Donnelly | Nominated — MTV Movie Awards Best Comedic Performance |
| 1997 | Beverly Hills Ninja | Haru | Nominated — MTV Movie Awards Best Comedic Performance |
| 1998 | Almost Heroes | Bartholomew Hunt | Released posthumously |
| Dirty Work | Jimmy | Uncredited Released posthumously |
|
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990–1995 | Saturday Night Live | Various characters | 100 episodes |
| 1992 | The Jackie Thomas Show | Chris Thomas | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Roseanne | Man in Clothing Store | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Tom | Chris | 1 episode |
| 1997 | All That | The Chicago Ketchup Chef | 1 episode |