Chris Farley: Comedic Icon

Amazing. Today would have been Chris Farley's 60th birthday. I had never heard that name until Black Sheep came out in 1996, but that's when I became a fan. And then more of his films came out, and he was gaining a lot of steam in his career, but sadly, it all came to a tragic end. It wasn't until after he left us that I would see more of Farley's projects and learn quite a bit about him.

On February 15, 1964, Christopher Crosby Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin, one of five children of Mary Anne (nee Crosby) and Thomas John Farley, Sr. It wasn't until his mid-20s that the comedy and acting bug bit him, and his career actually ended up beginning as a cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1990. That was the early stages of what would become a memorable period during the show's near five-decade history, as Farley was part of a group that included David Spade, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Tim Meadows, and Kevin Nealon, with that group being referred to as the "Bad Boys" of SNL.

Farley played a lot of memorable characters in his time on SNL, but his two most known ones are, of course, Matt Foley and Todd O'Connor. Matt Foley, as we all know, is a motivational speaker, though his life was in the pits. His go to line: "I am 35 years old, I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van down by the river." The character caused a lot of laughs on-screen, with one notable moment coming in a sketch that featured the episode's host, Christina Applegate--who was shown laughing a bit during the sketch. As for Todd O'Connor, he was part of the Chicago "Superfan" group, though the teams that were mentioned were the Bulls and Bears (I still often wonder why the Blackhawks were never mentioned). Todd's signature was usually having heart attacks while chowing down on that good food, and regarding the character, I find it so humorously ironic that Farley was playing a diehard Bears fan--in real life, he was a Packers fan.

It was during Farley's run on Saturday Night Live that he appeared in the 1992 comedy, Wayne's World, which marked Farley's first film. He appeared in the sequel a year later, and was also in Coneheads (based on the classic SNL sketch) and Airheads (his first film with Adam Sandler). Farley's SNL tenure ended after the 20th year in 1995, a year that saw a vast wave of departures and firings, though his film career continued that year with one of his most memorable films, Tommy Boy.

The film starred was the first of two movies to pair Farley and Spade together, and it featured the former as Thomas "Tommy Boy" Callahan III, a dimwitted yet lovable slacker who works at his father's auto parts factory after graduating from college (after seven years). After the sudden passing of Thomas "Big Tom" Callahan, Jr., the factory is facing being closed down, and it's up to Tommy and his pal, Richard (Spade), to make the proper deals to keep things afloat. Part of the cast included the late Brian Dennehy as Big Tom, along with Rob Lowe, Bo Derek, and Dan Aykroyd (who worked with Farley in Coneheads).

Farley also appeared in an uncredited role in Sandler's film, Billy Madison, and 1996 saw Farley and Spade together again in Black Sheep. In this film, Farley played Mike Donnelly, the titular black sheep brother of political candidate Al Donnelly (played by Tim Matheson). The film's cast also included Bruce McGill, Christine Ebersole, and Gary Busey, and in a brief scene, Farley was shown alongside his real-life brothers, Kevin and John Farley. His next big film was Beverly Hills Ninja, which he co-starred alongside Chris Rock and future "Desperate Housewife" Nicollette Sheridan.

Speaking of that film, or the promotion for it, I have to mention this:

I can't think about this without crying, I swear. This is a shot of Farley appearing on The Tonight Show to promote Beverly Hills Ninja. This took place in January 1997--right after the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI. I was 11 years old when I saw this, and as I think about it, I can't help but shed tears; Farley was quite a devoted Packers fan, as am I. However, again, I was 11 years old. I had no idea what was up with him at that time, but I should have sensed it: Farley was coked up. He had a drug habit for most of his adult life, and had been in and out of rehab, though after being disappointed with Black Sheep, he relapsed.

As the year progressed, Farley did appear to be getting worse. For years, when I watch Farley's hosting episode of SNL from 1997, I often wonder why Comedy Central didn't show the monologue. I now know why. It's been said that Farley's appearance was not good. Flushed face, voice was heavily hoarse, and he was only 33 years of age at the time! Despite this, the episode showed Farley reprise his iconic characters, Matt Foley and Todd O'Connor, though it was clear that Farley was not well.

Farley's hosting gig aired on October 25, 1997. Less than two months later, Farley passed away at that aforementioned age of 33. I'll never forget the day I heard that news, though I wish I could. It was December 18, 1997, and the details revealed that Farley died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine--a speedball. 1998 saw a pair of posthumous film releases; first off, Almost Heroes, which starred Farley and the recently late Matthew Perry, and his final film, Dirty Work--one of my favorite comedies. Farley's role was uncredited, but memorable. He played Jimmy "No-Nose" (due to his nose being bitten off by a hook-up), who served as a buddy of central protagonist Mitch Weaver (played by the late Norm MacDonald.

Farley had a lot of unfinished and canceled projects, and one of two main ones was a biopic about iconic comedian Fatty Arbuckle. The other, as many learned a few years ago, was Shrek. You read that right. The legendary Shrek film originally had Chris Farley voicing the titular character, and it was in 2015 that never-before-heard recordings of Farley performing Shrek's lines was unveiled for the first time. Of course, the film was retooled and released in 2001 with Mike Myers voicing the titular character, and it became a big-time film franchise.

In May of 2019, Adam Sandler (finally) hosted SNL (took them long enough), and it was late in the episode that Sandler performed a song honoring Chris Farley. It was beautifully done, and an absolute tearjerker; just an amazing tribute overall. Farley's life was tragically cut short, but my goodness, he left us so much. It's been 26 years and nearly two months since Farley left us, and he is still talked about fondly by his many fans, myself included. That's the way it should be, especially on this day, what would have been his 60th birthday.