Christopher Crosby Farley was born February 15, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended Marquette University with a degree in theatre and communications. After he graduated he preformed with Ark Improv Theatre group and studied under Del Close. In the late eighties Chris preformed at the Second City Theatre. He was then discovered by producer Lorne Michaels from Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels brought Farley to the case in the 1990-1991 season.
Farley's comedic enthusiasm onstage quickly made him a favorite on SNL. His most notable role was that of Matt Foley. While at SNL he got an offer to star in Waynes World as a security guard. He left SNL along with other long-time favorites Adam Sandler, Kevin Nealon, and Phil Hartman after the 1994-95 season to focus on his movie career.
Farley firmly set his place on the silver screen. He briefly appeared in several films, including Wayne's World 2, Coneheads, and Airheads. His next role would land him a place in modern pop culture. Playing opposite David Spade, Farley had everyone rolling in the floor with his wonderful performance in "Tommy Boy." This leading role was a breakthrough which provided him a greater audience for his talent and established him as a bankable movie star. Farley went on to win an MTV Movie Award with Spade for Best Comedic Duo in "Tommy Boy." And in the process, gained millions of fans.
Farley then want on to make another movie with Spade, "Black Sheep." Farley played the disaster-prone brother of a gubernatorial hopeful. He gets high, creates huge messes, and breaks a lot of stuff. He drives a bus into a crowd; he shuts his necktie in the trunk of a stranger's car and gets dragged around a grocery store parking lot. In other words, he was Farley! Although the critics were very critical of this movie, Farley fans were quite impressed by it. Who needs Siskel and Ebert telling them what to watch anyway?
Farley teamed up with Chris Rock most in "Beverly Hills Ninja." Farley played Haru, the Great White Ninja, who wasn't too great of a ninja. This marked Farley's first lead role without Spade(and his sarcastic quips), which brought a different feel to the movie. Rock filled in good as a part time side kick to Farley. One day, Rock will "learn the art of choking the chicken!" In the meantime, watch "Beverly Hills Ninja!"
In his most anticipated movie to date, Almost Heroes, Chris Farley plays Bartholomew Hunt, a veteran tracker whose expertise with a musket is matched only by his facility with the bottle. Co-starring Matthew Perry of "Friends," this movie will finally remove the label of Chris as a "fat guy who falls down." This was reported as Chris's favorite of all his movies, and he was most proud of it.
Chris Farley died on december 17th from a mixture of Opium and Cocaine. Chris Farley was obviously a comedic legend and should be remembered as one of the best comedians of the 90's.