Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 –
December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian.
He 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 three 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.
Career
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[1]) 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 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 (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.[2][3] 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.[4]
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 3,[citation
needed] 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 title role in the 1996 film The Cable
Guy, but scheduling conflicts forced him to decline the role. The role was eventually given to Jim Carrey.[5]
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,[6] his hoarse voice and apparent perspiration were the subject of
public scrutiny.[7][8] 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.[9] 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.
Obesity, alcohol and drug addiction contributed to Farley’s death at age 33. On December
18, 1997, his younger brother John found Farley 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.[10]
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 such
as Adam Sandler, Lorne Michaels, Phil Hartman, Dan Aykroyd, John
Goodman, George Wendt, 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
Farley was in a box."[11] However, Spade did appear on
the special 25th Anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live to call for a moment of remembrance for Farley.
Chris 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.[12] 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.
Filmography
Television Work
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
