Chris Farley Biography

Christopher Crosby Farley was one of five children of the close-knit blue-collar family of Tom and Mary-Anne Farley. After a childhood spent honing his comedy skills trying to make his family laugh, Farley attended Marquette University, graduating in 1985 with a degree in Communications. Upon completing his studies, he initially went to work with his father at the Scotch Oil Company, before finding work on the stage.

It was with Chicago’s legendary Ark improvisation troupe, at the Improv Olympic Theatre, that Farley got his first break, performing off-the-cuff comedy with the group until the beginning of the nineties. During this period, he was spotted by Lorne Michaels, producer of the popular American comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live’. On the basis of this performance, Michaels recruited Farley for the 1990-91 season of the programme.

‘Saturday Night Live', as it has done for comedians before and since, provided a springboard for Farley into the movies, taking small roles in films such as ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992), ‘Coneheads’ (1993) and ‘Billy Madison’ (1995). After leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1995, he got his first starring roles, alongside long-time collaborator David Spade in the films ‘Tommy Boy’ (1995) and ‘Black Sheep’ (1996).

The minor box-office successes of these films formed a platform for his first solo outing, ‘Beverly Hills Ninja’ in 1997. ‘Ninja’ was his biggest success, topping the U.S. charts and making him a nationally recognised performer.

By this time, Chris Farley had long been notorious for his wild off-screen lifestyle, which unfortunately caught up with him on 18th December 1997, when he passed away due to complications associated with a cocaine overdose. His last film ‘Almost Heroes’, was released in early 1998, and stands as the last testament to a lost talent.