Chris Farley

I really liked Chris Farley. Tommy Boy and Black Sheep are still two of my all time favourite comedies…and at the time, I thought he was one of the funniest cast members of SNL during the supposed ‘lean years’ (critics dump all over early 90’s SNL, but for me, that’s what I grew up watching, and for me, I laugh just thinking about some of the sketches from that era…so it was funny to me…but I was never really that big a fan of ‘classic’ early years SNL either…). I was shocked and pretty sad when he died, but it probably didn’t hit as hard as it should have, with me or the general public, because it was just one more in a long string of early deaths by celebrities from drugs and booze during the 90’s.

Just another dead celebrity. Just another dead fat guy. Here we go again.

But he wasn’t just some fat guy who was funny only because he was fat. He was better than that…and after reading this most recent article about him and a new book about his life, and having had my own mother talk about how much she enjoyed a recent biography program on him on TV, I think more people feel the same way.

Just say ‘Chris Farley’ and if you’re a fan, there’s a 99% chance you’re going to break out into a mild giggle just thinking about him…for me, he’s like my ‘get out of a grumpy mood free’ card…I just think ‘Chris Farley’…and I laugh…and I feel better. I don’t think about how he died…and I think that’s a testament to how funny I thought he was.

And why I still smile whenever I think about him.