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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 in the 1990s before dying in late 1997.
Early life
Saturday Night LiveFarley 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 Hoagies and Grinders 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. Film careerFarley made 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 previous film), Airheads in 1994, and Adam Sandler's Billy Madison in 1995. Image:Farley.jpg Chris Farley in a scene from his 1996 film Black Sheep 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 costarred 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. 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]
Unfinished projectsFarley had recorded vocals for a character in an animated film produced by Dreamworks SKG, but his death necessitated that the role be recast. He was replaced by SNL colleague Mike Myers as the voice of Shrek in the movie of the same name. 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. Death
After struggling with obesity, alcohol, and drug addiction for many years, Farley died at the age of 33. His younger brother, John P. Farley, found Chris dead in his 60th floor apartment of the John Hancock Center in Chicago on December 18, 1997. An autopsy revealed that Farley died of an overdose of cocaine and heroin (commonly known as a "Speedball") with coronary arteriosclerosis being a contributing factor.[5] By the time of his last SNL appearance, as a guest host on October 25, 1997,[6] he was evidently in trouble — his voice was unbearably hoarse, he looked bloated, sweat profusely, and was grossly overweight.[7][8] A tabloid reported that Farley had been drinking heavily during the week of rehearsals and needed an oxygen tank. Reportedly, on the set of Almost Heroes, he required almost constant care.[9] However, Matthew Perry has said this is untrue and that Farley was sober on set. In some ways, Farley was a contradictory character. He could be completely uninhibited on stage, willing to do anything for a laugh, but he could also be shy and insecure in private. Farley's friends have said that they were worried because they knew about his drug and alcohol abuse, but were unable to get him to see the damage that he was doing to himself. In his book Gasping for Airtime, former cast member Jay Mohr recalled a surreal moment involving Farley and fellow cast member 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. After his death, a funeral service was held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Madison, Wisconsin on December 23, 1997. Over 500 people attended his funeral. Farley was buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Madison. In 1998, his final completed films Almost Heroes and Dirty Work were posthumously released. On August 26, 2005, almost eight years after his death, Farley received the 2,289th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located in front of Improv Olympic West.[10] Farley said he was similar to his idol, the late comedian John Belushi. In fact, his lifestyle and death were strikingly similar to Belushi's. Both Farley and Belushi died at the age of 33 and under similar circumstances (drug overdose of cocaine and heroin with obesity being a contributing factor), and became famous for their work on Saturday Night Live. Filmography
Television Work
References
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