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Farley, Jr., Tom, and Tanner Colby. The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. Penguin Books, 2009.

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Chris was born on February 15th, 1964 to Mary Anne and Tom Farley. He has a sister named Barbara and 3 brothers Tom Jr., Kevin, and John.

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At his private high school Edgewood, Chris once flashed a girl and was expelled. His parents sent him off to a private boarding school in Indiana.

"this girl and her parents were making a real issue out of it. Chris wound up getting expelled." (28)

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After high school Chris was enrolled in Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He majored in communications studies and minored in theater.

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Chris moved to Chicago wanting to go to Second City Improv but instead started at ImprovOlympic.

"Forced to look elsewhere for a place to learn and perform, he found it at ImprovOlympic." (62)

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After 18 months at ImprovOlympic, Chris finally got offered a job at Second City.

"Chris auditioned for Second City's touring company in January 1989 and was offered a position." (73/74)

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Quick Facts

Hired for the Second City stage by Del Close in 1989

His "Matt Foley" character on was originated in Second City's 73rd revue

With a larger-than-life personality and comedic talent that filled a room, Chris Farley is best known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and films like and Black Sheep .

Farley grew up in Wisconsin, where he developed a love of comedy and graduated college with a degree in communications and theater. While working in Madison, he began performing improv at the Ark Improv Theatre, eventually moving to Chicago to pursue a career in comedy. Once Farley moved to Chicago, he was able to delve into the art of improvisation. After meeting his comedic idol John Belushi 's mentor, , Farley became a student of Close's at comedy clubs in Chicago. Initially a part of the Second City Touring Company, he was promoted to the Mainstage in 1989, eventually starring in three revues from 1989-1991: The Gods Must Be Lazy, It Was Thirty Years Ago Today , and Flag Smoking Permitted in Lobby Only or Censorama , performing alongside Tim Meadows , Joel Murray , David Pasquesi , and Bob Odenkirk .

It was on Second City's stage where he debuted "Motivational Speaker," the character he named for his real-life friend, a soft-spoken Catholic priest named Matt Foley, and would go on to take to SNL. It was at Second City that Lorne Michaels discovered Farley and hired him to join the cast of the spring of 1990. Farley rocketed to fame with a variety of popular characters, often acting alongside David Spade, Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. In 2015, Rolling Stone named him the 15th "most influential cast member" of of all-time. Farley's iconic characters beyond "Matt Foley" included a Chippendale's dancer, Cindy from "Gap Girls," himself on "The Chris Farley Show," and a member of the Bears' "Super Fans." During his tenure at SNL, he also worked the films Wayne's World and , both starring fellow and Second City alums and Dan Aykroyd . After leaving , Farley embarked on a film career, mainly alongside close friend David Spade. The two made and Black Sheep , both of which were box office successes and have developed a cult following. After the success of the two films, Farley starred in Beverly Hills Ninja , which came in first in the box office its opening weekend. He completed the films Almost Heroes and prior to his death, released posthumously.

Farley stayed close to his Second City roots, often returning to join the improv sets and even attended the company's holiday party just days before his untimely death in 1997.

Chris Farley's distinct comedic style and body of work continues to influence the world of comedy today.

CREDITS 1989: The Gods Must Be Lazy, Chicago Mainstage 1989-1990: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today, Chicago Mainstage 1990-1991: Flag Smoking Permitted in Lobby Only or Censorama, Chicago Mainstage

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Hired for the Second City stage by Del Close in 1989 His "Matt Foley" character on was originated in Second City's 73rd revue With a larger-than-life personality and comedic talent that filled a room, Chris Farley is best known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and films like and Black Sheep .

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A talent scout at SNL came to watch Chris perform at Second City and signed him on 1990.

"His reputation began to draw interest from the talent scouts at Saturday Night Live as well as representatives at Brillstein-Grey, the power house management firm in Beverly Hills." (92)

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On his fourth show, Chris performed the skit that is a very big part of his fame. He performed the Chippendale's skit which was an ultimate hit.

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Chris started dating Lorne Michaels' assistant Erin. They were happy together for a while, then Chris went off the rails with his drinking, which she couldn’t handle so they broke up.

"Chris was in love with Erin. He talked about her all the time. She was very smart." (116)

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Chris badly relapsed with his drug problem so his family sent him to this place in Alabama where he stayed for a while and then for the next 3 years he was clean and sober.

"For the next three years, Chris Farley stayed clean and sober. At Lorne Michaels's behest, he had spent the entire Christmas break at a hard-core, locked-down rehab facility in Alabama." (145)

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After getting clean and sober Chris made some of his most famous sketches like Matt Foley:Motivational Speaker, Gap Girls, Lunchlady Land, and more.

"Chris was a changed man. He was calmer, more thoughtful, and more focused. He was also funnier" (146)

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In 1994, Chris Farley and his best friend David Spade starred in the classic comedy film Tommy Boy which had a pretty rocky start on production. Chris and David fought a lot on set.

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Tommy Boy (1995) Official Trailer #1 - Chris Farley, David Spade Comedy HD

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In 1994 Chris was joking around with a girl who has an extra on SNL and wanting to get a bigger role she complained about sexual-harassment from Chris. Even though he did not sexually harass her his friends blew it out of proportion and made him think he was going to get arrested.

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Chris started dating Victoria's Secret model Lorri Bagley who he met through his best friend David Spade. This caused lots of drama between the three of them.

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In 1996 Chris had just finished filming Beverly Hills Ninja and in 1997 he started filming Edward and Hunt also known as Almost Heroes.

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In 1997 Chris Farley performed his last show at SNL and did not return to the show.

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Chris Farley was the original voice of Shrek but sadly passed away before they finished using his voice so that is why no one has ever heard his version of Shrek.

"His death was quite devastating, both personally and to the process of creating the film. We spent almost a year banging our heads against the wall until Mike Myers was able to come on board. Chris's Shrek and Mike's Shrek are really two completely different characters, as much as Chris and Mike are two completely different people." (273)

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Chris kept telling his friends that he was going to get clean after Christmas that year but his addiction was at a new low.

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Leading up to his death Chris kept relapsing and relapsing up to the point where his friends could not be in a room with him.

"I remember dropping him off at his apartment. He wanted me to come up and see his place, and I just didn't have it in me." (283)

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In December 1997, Chris had been partying for four days straight and had taken a lot of drugs and drank a lot of alcohol. When a woman was leaving his apartment he got up  to escort her out and collapsed on the floor, she thought he was just tired and left him a note thanking him. Later that day, his brother John and friend Ted walked in to his apartment to pick up something and found Chris dead on December 18.

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With the parking lot filled with cameras and news station reporters, his family and close friends held Chris’s funeral two days before Christmas 1997. It was a very emotional day for everybody who attended including many comedians who were not as funny as normal that day.

"I was just blown away by the live that Chris had lived. There was a deep melancholy in the room, but you also felt this great love from everyone. He had touched so many people." (322)

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Chris Farley Funeral | Local News | 23 Dec 1997