The “Black Sheep” star’s life was cut short, however his comedy has left a lasting impression on Saturday Night Live as well as film

By Peter Lesser

Chris Farley made a career out of the ridiculous. “I’m just dandy. I got a bowl of chocolate pudding in my underpants,” he said in his 1996 film “Black Sheep.” It was with outrageous jokes like this and an over-dramatic nutcase character that propelled Chris Farley to stardom.

His career was launched in 1990 when he joined the cast of the highly rated Saturday Night Live. A film career followed, working with Adam Sandler and David Spade and quickly became a staple in 1990s comedy, with Farley appearing in nine movies over five years. As his career took off, so did his wild lifestyle, until it finally caught up with him in 1997 when he died of a cocaine and morphine overdose. Farley will always be revered in comedic history as a movie star and one of the SNL greats. He’ll be remembered for “doing what he loved to do most,” said David Spade in People magazine, “making people laugh.”

Farley began honing his comedy skills by making his four siblings and parents laugh throughout his upbringing. He attended Marquette University in Milwaukee and graduated in 1985 with a degree in communications. He spent a couple years working for his father at Scotch Oil Company after college, but it didn’t take him long to find his way to the stage, according to his biography.

Like many SNL cast members, he began his acting career with the Second City Theatre. Farley and Chris Rock were announced as the two new SNL cast members in the spring of 1990. Working with other actors such as Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Rob Schneider, Farley and his fellow cast members were quickly dubbed “The Bad Boys of SNL”. Farley’s two most popular characters, one as an overly nervous simple-minded host on a talk show and the other as an over the top motivational speaker who “lived in van, down by the river,” helped Farley become one of the show’s top players and eventually move onto the big screen.

His first two movies hit movies, “Tommy Boy” (1995) and “Black Sheep” (1996), each earned around $32 million and became instant cult classics. These two films proved that Farley had captured the interest and appeal of teenagers in the mid-1990s, whose comedic tastes were influenced by SNL at the time (SNL was at its highest ratings in 1994 and weren’t matched until 2008 when Sarah Palin appeared on the show). His flustered and incompetent characters, which he perfected on SNL, were lovable and relatable while still goofy and uproarious. Alex Grubard, a 26-year-old stand-up comedian and an avid Farley fan, grew up watching his movies and his Saturday Night Live skits. “Farley’s characters were often way too overwhelmed,” said Grubard. “A poor slob who’s way over his head and overcompensating is clearly hilarious.”

He was then given the lead role in the 1997 film “Beverly Hills Ninja,” which ranked number one at the box office in its opening weekend.

Throughout his career he was known for his outlandish off-screen lifestyle. According to New York magazine, he and Sandler were said to have made late-night prank phone calls in the SNL offices and mooning cars in a limousine; however, it wasn’t all fun and games. He had difficulties coping with the realities of life offstage. “His life sometimes seemed as out of control as the characters that made his audiences roar,” wrote James Barron in a 1997 New York Times article following the actor’s death.

In an interview published by Playboy three months before his death, Farley was quoted as saying “I used to think that you could get to a level of success where the laws of the universe didn’t apply. But they do. It’s still life on life’s terms, not on movie star terms.” Farley called himself a sprinter, not a long-distance runner. “I seem to get motivated a few months at a time and then something stressful breaks the routine and I just fold and I’m off to the races,” he said in the interview. In his final years, his flushed skin and constant sweating was noted frequently in the press. According to his biography written by his brother Tom, he admitted himself to rehab on 17 separate occasions, but couldn’t stay on track.

It all caught up to him on Dec. 18, 1997. Farley’s brother John found him dead on his apartment floor from an overdose of cocaine and morphine. He had several works in progress at the time of his death, including the vocals for the lead role in DreamWorks “Shrek,” but after his death they gave the job to Mike Myers.

Farley’s life and career have been paralleled to other comedians as well. Another SNL alumnus, John Belushi, led a similar lifestyle and also died from drug complications when he was 33. Belushi made his claim to fame in the 1970s on Saturday Night Live, and his film “Animal House” grossed over $120 million and captured a generation of wild, sex-crazed, binge drinking college kids.

Although Farley’s career ended abruptly, he still made a splash in 1990s comedy. His characters were adored and have influenced other comics and actors (like Kevin James or Jonah Hill who often play the overwhelmed chubby in many recent Adam Sandler films). But despite his death, comedy will live on and continue to grow. One man alone can’t change it. “I didn’t come up with this line,” said Grubard, “but I can’t accurately attribute it to anyone: ‘Comedy will always be bigger than you. You’ll never be bigger than comedy.”