Chris Farley (Celebrity In Spotlight)

Christopher Crosby Farley (Chris Farley) (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American comedian and actor.He was a member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and achieved his greatest fame as a cast member on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He starred in a string of successful comedic films in the 1990s before his death of drug overdose in late 1997.

Farley was one of two new SNL (Saturday Night Live) cast members announced in the spring of 1990, the other being Chris Rock. On the show, Farley frequently collaborated with fellow cast members David Spade, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, and Rob Schneider, among others. This group came to be known as the "Bad Boys of SNL." Popular characters performed by Farley included an over-the-top motivational speaker named Matt Foley (who constantly reminded characters that he lived in "a van down by the river"), Todd O'Connor of Bill Swerski's Superfans (a group of stereotypical Chicagoans who constantly yell out "da Bears!"), a Chippendale's dancer (in a famous skit that paired him with guest host Patrick Swayze), one of the "Gap Girls" (who hung out together at a local mall), a stereotypical lunch lady (to the theme of Lunch Lady Land performed by Adam Sandler[1]) and Bennett Brauer (a Weekend Update commentator who would often divulge his personal and hygienic problems via air quotes). Some of these characters were brought to SNL from his days at Second City. Farley also performed impersonations of Tom Arnold, (who gave the eulogy at his funeral), Andrew Giuliani, Jerry Garcia, Meat Loaf, Norman Schwarzkopf, Roger Ebert, Carnie Wilson, and Newt Gingrich who invited Farley down to Washington, D.C. He was best friends with David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and Adam Sandler.

Obesity, alcohol and drug addiction contributed to Farley's death at age 33. On December 18, 1997, his younger brother John found Farley dead in his apartment on the 60th floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. An autopsy revealed that Farley had overdosed on a dangerous combination of cocaine and heroin (often referred to as a "speedball"), with coronary atherosclerosis as a contributing factor.