Chris Farley(1964-1997)
- Actor
- Stunts
- Production Department
Christopher Crosby Farley was born on February 15, 1964, in Madison,
Wisconsin, to Mary Anne (Crosby) and Thomas Farley, who owned an oil
company. Among his siblings are actors
Kevin P. Farley and
John Farley. He was of Irish
heritage. Farley studied theatre and communications on Marquette
University. After finishing university he was in the cast of the
Second City Theatre, where he was discovered by the producer of the
great comedy show
Saturday Night Live (1975),
Lorne Michaels. Farley worked on
Saturday Night Live (1975)
for five years during which he appeared in movies like
Wayne's World (1992),
Coneheads (1993),
Billy Madison (1995) and finally
Tommy Boy (1995), with his comic
partner and SNL cast member David Spade. The
duo later made one more movie called
Black Sheep (1996). From that time
on, Farley was one of the big comedy stars, and his fame was growing and
growing.
After some more time, he made another "lone" movie, Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), which featured former SNL member Chris Rock. Farley was made even more famous, but with his growing fame, his problems grew bigger as well; he didn't want to be the "fat guy who falls down" any longer. Farley had several other problems, too, with alcohol and drug dependency. On December 18th, 1997, he died from a morphine and cocaine overdose in his apartment in Chicago, where his body was found by his brother John the next day. Farley's weight of 296 pounds was a contributing factor in his death, but according to his autopsy the alcohol, marijuana and Prozac that was also found in his body, were not. Less than two months prior to his death, he had appeared alongside Chevy Chase on what would be Farley's only SNL show as host. Not unlike his idol John Belushi, he was credited for one more appearance after having left SNL and died at age 33. His death cause was also the same. In the year after Farley's departing, the movie Almost Heroes (1998), where he plays the leading role alongside Matthew Perry was released. He also makes cameo appearances in Dirty Work (1998)
After some more time, he made another "lone" movie, Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), which featured former SNL member Chris Rock. Farley was made even more famous, but with his growing fame, his problems grew bigger as well; he didn't want to be the "fat guy who falls down" any longer. Farley had several other problems, too, with alcohol and drug dependency. On December 18th, 1997, he died from a morphine and cocaine overdose in his apartment in Chicago, where his body was found by his brother John the next day. Farley's weight of 296 pounds was a contributing factor in his death, but according to his autopsy the alcohol, marijuana and Prozac that was also found in his body, were not. Less than two months prior to his death, he had appeared alongside Chevy Chase on what would be Farley's only SNL show as host. Not unlike his idol John Belushi, he was credited for one more appearance after having left SNL and died at age 33. His death cause was also the same. In the year after Farley's departing, the movie Almost Heroes (1998), where he plays the leading role alongside Matthew Perry was released. He also makes cameo appearances in Dirty Work (1998)
