Chris Farley

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Christopher Crosby Farley (born February 15, 1964 in Madison , Wisconsin , † December 18, 1997 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American actor and comedian .

Farley had his greatest successes as a comedian in films like Tommy Boy in the mid-1990s . He was often seen at the side of comedian David Spade .

Early life

Chris Farley grew up in a small village in Wisconsin, the son of Thomas John Farley Sr., owner of an oil company, and housewife Mary Anne Crosby. He had four siblings and his younger brothers Kevin and John Farley also became actors. The families were Catholic and of Irish descent. Chris Farley took an early interest in acting and graduated from Marquette University in 1986 with a degree in Theater and Communication Studies. He then began his show career at improvisational theaters in Chicago , where he performed with sketches, and was quickly successful. He became a member of The Second City theater group in the late 1980s , which produced many famous comedians.

Participation in Saturday Night Live

In 1990 Chris Farley was accepted as a new member on the comedy show Saturday Night Live , which first made him known to an American-wide public. While on Saturday Night Live (SNL), Farley worked with fellow cast members including Chris Rock , David Spade and Adam Sandler . Popular characters Farley played - some of whom he brought to SNL from his time in The Second City, Chicago - included an over-the-top motivational speaker named Matt Foley (who kept reminding the other characters that he was in "one Van down by the river ”), a Chippendales dancer (in a famous sketch with Patrick Swayze ), a“ gap girl ”who hangs out with friends at the supermarket, and Bennett Brauer , who often appeared in the Weekend Update and kept his personal and knew how to reveal hygienic problems through hand signals. As an impersonator, Farley was best known for portraying Tom Arnold (who gave the speech at his funeral) and Newt Gingrich , who invited Farley as his personal guest to Washington, DC , to perform as a show act at a political event.

Movies

Farley has also appeared in films such as Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Airheads (1994), and Adam Sandler's Billy Madison (1995). In the Adam Sandler film Waterboy - The guy with the water damage (1998) he played a sports reporter who is currently interviewing the wrestler Captain Caracho ( Captain Insano in the original, played by Paul Wight ).

After he was released from his contract with SNL after the unsuccessful 1994/1995 season, Farley had a great success in 1995 with his film Tommy Boy - Through thick and thin , in which he played alongside David Spade. He and Spade met again in the 1996 film Black Sheep , with similar success. Farley had managed to establish himself in Hollywood and played the lead role in Beverly Hills Ninja - Die Kampfwurst (1997) and Fast Heroes (1998) with Matthew Perry , who would also be the last film with him in the lead role. In 1993 he played a supporting role in The Coneheads , on which he already worked with David Spade. He also had a guest appearance in the film by his former SNL colleague Norm MacDonald Dirty Work (1998), which was successfully released in theaters after Farley's death. He was very popular with young audiences both as a stage comedian and as a comedy actor in films.

At the end of his feature film Little Nicky - Satan Junior (2000), producer Adam Sandler implied that the heavenly angel, played by Reese Witherspoon , was starting a romantic relationship with her aerobics teacher: Chris Farley.

Farley's final years

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Chris Farley's grave

Farley, who struggled with obesity , alcohol and drug addiction for years, was found dead on December 18, 1997 in his Chicago apartment at the John Hancock Center . An autopsy revealed that Farley had died of a cocaine overdose (probably from a speedball ) caused by calcification of the heart arteries . By the time he made his last SNL guest appearance on October 25, 1997, he was clearly in trouble, looking bloated and exhausted, and extremely overweight. The tabloids have already speculated extensively about drug addiction and health problems at Farley.

At the time of his death he was 33 years old, the same age that John Belushi , his most important role model as a comedian, had died 15 years earlier. Belushi also died of a cocaine and heroin overdose . David Spade did not come to Farley's funeral because he said he was in too emotional a state at the time. However, for the 25th anniversary of SNL , he presented a retrospective of his friend.

In some ways Farley was a contradictory person: Completely uninhibited on stage and known for doing anything to get a laugh, he was rather shy and insecure in private. His friends said they knew and were concerned about his excessive behavior but were unable to get him to stop. After his death, the tabloids exploited all the dark details; but people who knew Farley say he was a very nice and decent person.

Ready to prove that he was more than a comedy actor, Farley was inclined to take a more serious role in a film project about the life of silent film comedy actor Roscoe Arbuckle , which however never materialized after Farley's death. In an interview in the book Live from New York , former SNL actor Jay Mohr recalled a surreal moment that revolved around Farley and his SNL colleague Phil Hartman . In a farewell song by the SNL actors for Hartman, the last scene was a hug between Farley and Hartman. Both died within six months of one another.

Farley was buried in Resurrection Cemetery in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. On August 26, 2005, nearly eight years after his death, Farley posthumously received the 2,289th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . His star is ahead of the ImprovOlympic West.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Famous Faces Answers | Marquette University. March 5, 2013, accessed August 16, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Erik Hedegaard, Erik Hedegaard: Chris Farley: The Wild Ride and Sad End. In: Rolling Stone. February 5, 1998. Retrieved August 16, 2019 (American English).
  3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/elahei : 5 things we learned about Chris Farley in the new documentary about his life and death. Retrieved on August 16, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Kory Grow, Kory Grow: David Spade Reveals 'Fat Guy in a Little Coat' Origin. In: Rolling Stone. April 30, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2019 (American English).
  5. ↑ Joe Berkowitz: Chris Farley Was Originally The Voice of Shrek – And Footage Has Finally Surfaced. August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2019 (American English).
  6. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2467/chris-farley
personal data
SURNAME Farley, Chris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Farley, Christopher Crosby (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Madison , Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 1997
Place of death Chicago , Illinois