Hey, Farley Fans!
Who doesn’t love this king of comedy? Chris Farley will forever be remembered in our hearts and in our laughs as one of those one-of-a-kind kinds of people who could easily tap into that lighter, brighter, and funnier side of life.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Chris grew up with four other siblings—Tom Jr., Kevin, John, and Barbara Farley. Growing up in his hometown, Chris went to a number of Catholic schools and is said to have always made it to Mass.
Chris had a close connection with his summer camp. He spent many of his summers as a camper himself, and then later as a camp counselor at Red Arrow Camp around Minocqua, Wisconsin. Even from an early age, Chris enjoyed making people laugh.
Chris went to college at Marquette University to study communications and theater. He graduated in 1986 and one year later, moved to Chicago. Chris had developed a passion for improvisational comedy—comedy skits that are unscripted and unrehearsed. He performed at the Ark Improv Theater in Madison, the Improv Olympic theater in Chicago and, eventually, Chicago’s Second City Theater.
It was during one of his performances at Chicago’s Second City Theater where Chris was discovered by a producer of the ever-so-popular sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Chris boomed with popularity in the coming years on the show as he resurrected characters of his own from Second City Theater for sketches on the show.
After SNL, Chris started making movies. Along with his best friend David Spade, Chris made such classics as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.
Few people know that Chris was actually supposed to be the voice of the lovable ogre, Shrek. The story was pretty different than the one we’ve seen too. Chris had recorded 80 to 90% of the lines for the movie. Unfortunately, he died before being able to finish the movie. Mike Myers later stepped in to make Shrek after the script had been rewritten.Though his passing is a tragedy, he still has us laughing with his unique brand of comedy.
- John