Chris Farley
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| Chris Farley | |
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| Born | February 15, 1964 Madison, Wisconsin |
| Died | December 18, 1997 Chicago, Illinois |
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 mid-1990s before dying of a drug overdose in late 1997.
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[edit] Early life
Farley was born in Rhode Island. His nuclear family consisted of his three brothers (Tom Jr. and actors Kevin and John), his sister Barbara and his parents, Maryann and Tom Sr. Chris graduated from Edgewood High School after leaving La Lumiere School due to academic reasons after just one semester. 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.
[edit] 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, Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler, 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 Chippendales 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, and Newt Gingrich, who invited Farley down to Washington, D.C.
[edit] Films
Farley also made appearances in several 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.
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 and Black Sheep, which were minor 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]
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.
[edit] Unfinished projects
Farley 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.
[edit] Death
Farley was severely overweight for most of his child and adult life and was an alcoholic. He began drinking beer while at Marquette University. After struggling with obesity, alcohol, and drug addiction for years, he was found dead in his 60th floor apartment of the John Hancock Center in Chicago on December 18, 1997. Farley was 33 years old. An autopsy revealed that Farley had died of an overdose of cocaine and heroin (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, sweated 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 hands-on caretaking. [9]
In some ways Farley was a contradictory character: he could be completely uninhibited onstage, willing to do anything for a laugh, but he could also be shy and insecure in private. He had devastating insecurities, including an over-dependency on his father's love.[citation needed] He overcame neither these emotional problems nor his dependence on alcohol. Farley's friends have said that they were worried because they knew about his excessive drug and alcohol intake, and his fixation with becoming a legend by dying, but were unable to get him to see the insanity of that thought process.
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 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 posthumously received the 2,289th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located in front of ImprovOlympic West. [10]
Farley once said he wanted to be just like John Belushi. He died using the same drug at the same age.
[edit] Filmography
- Wayne's World (1992)
- Coneheads (1993)
- Wayne's World 2 (1993)
- Airheads (1994)
- Billy Madison (1995)
- Tommy Boy (1995)
- Black Sheep (1996)
- Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
- Dirty Work (1998)
- Almost Heroes (1998)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Chris Farley at the Internet Movie Database
- The Full Throttle Life and Untimely Death of Chris Farley
- Chris Farley Foundation
- Chris Farley Animations
- Chris Farley at FindADeath.com
- Chris Farley's Gravesite
- Chris Farley's Footprints
- Chris Farley's death certificate
- Photos of Chris Farley death scene. WARNING, THIS LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES. Note Rosary beads in hand
Categories: Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | Articles with unsourced statements | 1964 births | 1997 deaths | Accidental deaths | American film actors | American comedians | Catholic comedians | Chicago actors | Drug-related deaths | Hollywood Walk of Fame | ImprovOlympics | Irish-American actors | People from Madison, Wisconsin | Roman Catholic entertainers | American Roman Catholics | Irish-American comedians | Second City alumni | Saturday Night Live cast members
