Dane County WI Archives Photo Tombstone.....FARLEY, Christopher Crosby ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Erin Proctor Proctor37@charter.net September 20, 2007, 5:48 pm Cemetery: Resurection Cemetery, Madison, Dane Co., Wi. Name: Christopher Crosby FARLEY Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/dane/photos/tombstones/resurection/farley1147nph.jpg Image file size: 61.1 Kb FARLEY, Christopher Crosby 15 Feb 1964- 18 Dec 1997 Christopher Crosby Farley was born to Tom and Mary Anne Farley in Madison, Wisconsin on February 15, 1964. He grew up in Madison, part of a close-knit family including three brothers, Kevin, John, and Tom, and one sister, Barbara. Comedy was all in the family for the Farleys, and many of the "inside" jokes they shared would go on to end up in Chris' movies. Besides honing his early comedy skills at home, Chris was also making others laugh at an early age in grade school and summer camp (he was a popular counsellor). After attending Madison's Edgewood High School, Chris graduated with a degree in communications and theatre from Marquette University, where he described himself as a "teacher's nightmare." After Marquette, Chris went to work at Madison's Scotch Oil Company alongside his dad, before he began performing with the Ark Improv Theatre group, studying under legendary director Del Close (John Belushi and John Candy both worked under Close as well) at the Improv Olympic Theatre. Chris was performing at Chicago's Second City Theatre in the late eighties when he was discovered by SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Lorne brought him to the cast of Saturday Night Live in the 1990-91 season. While at SNL, Farley's comedic exuberance onstage quickly made him a favourite. Some of his most popular roles while on SNL included playing a lovable, insecure caricature of himself as host of "The Chris Farley Show", the classic over-zealous auditioning Chippendales dancer and probably his most popular character: thrice-divorced, van-dwelling motivational speaker Matt Foley. Chris made his feature film debut in the hit movie "Wayne's World", appearing briefly as a security guard. After other small roles in the films "Coneheads", "Airheads", "Billy Madison" and "Wayne's World 2" Chris left SNL along with other after the 1994-95 season along with other long-time favorites Adam Sandler, Kevin Nealon, Rob Schneider and Phil Hartman to focus on his movie career. His first starring role came alongside SNL companion David Spade in 1995's "Tommy Boy". "Tommy Boy" quickly became a cult classic among fans, breaking box-office expectations, and causing many observers to call the duo a modern-day Laurel and Hardy combo. Chris teamed up with Spade again in "Black Sheep" which also achieved box-office success, and was a fan-favourite although lacking the overall popularity of Tommy Boy. Chris went solo in his next movie, "Beverly Hills Ninja" an over- the-top farce that provided ample opportunities for Farley's physical humour, but lacked the script to take full advantage of Farley's comedic talents. Farley's dedicated fan base continued to support his movies and "Ninja" was another box-office success, debuting #1. Besides SNL, Farley made several TV appearances. Farley would be seen everywhere from HBO's Larry Sanders show and Dennis Miller Live, to MTV's Road Rules. He often made appearances at football games supporting the Bears, Packers, and once appeared as a "special correspondent" at Wisconsin's homecoming football game vs. Northwestern. Chris also made many appearances on Letterman's Late Show, the Tonight Show, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/dane/photos/tombstones/resurection/farley1147nph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/wifiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb