Before SNL

Chris Farley was born on February 15, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin. Raised as a devout catholic, Farley attended multiple catholic schools in Madison before settling in at Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart. After graduating, Farley attended Marquette University to study Communications, however, during his sophomore year, Farley became increasingly unsure of his chosen career path and decided that he wanted to drop out to pursue comedy. After having a discussion with his parents on the matter, Farley was persuaded by his parents to continue his schooling while also adding courses in theater to appease his appetite for show business.

Once Farley graduated from Marquette in 1987, he began his professional career as a comedian at the Ark Improv Theatre in Madison, and then later moved to Chicago where he joined the famous Improv Olympic Theatre. While with Improv Olympic, Farley became a pupil of one of the all-time masters of improv, Del Close. After receiving recognition for his work at Improv Olympic, Farley was hired by The Second City to perform as part of their touring troupe, as well as on their main stage in Chicago. In 1990, Farley was spotted by SNL producer Lorne Michaels, and was immediately offered a job as a featured player for the show’s upcoming season 16.

Studio 8H

Farley flourished in his first season with SNL, showcasing his impressive improv and physical comedy gifts. During his fourth episode on the show, Farley starred in one of his most famous sketches with guest host Patrick Swayze, the star of the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, in which the two men competed for a job as a Chippendales male stripper.

Chippendales Audition Video

Farley also became well known for his hilarious character acting. Two of his most famous characters were the American Tourist in Japanese Game Show, and Matt Foley, a down-and-out, overweight, motivational speaker.

Japanese Game Show Video

Matt Foley Video

Farley was notorious for his off camera antics with fell cast members Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade, such as making prank phone calls from the SNL offices, as well as mooning pedestrians from limousines. (Fun Fact: They were known by the media as The Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live) These antics led to NBC’s 1995 decision to fire Farley, Sandler, Rock, and Schneider following the SNL’s less than stellar 20^th season.

Outside Work

After his departure from SNL, Farley began his film career with small roles in several films starring SNL alums, namely Wayne’s World in 1992 and Coneheads in 1993. Farley’s first major movie role came in 1994 with the release of Tommy Boy.

Another one of Farley’s greatest movie moments was his small role as the Bus Driver in the 1995 film Billy Madison starring Adam Sandler.

Some of Farley’s other films include: Wayne’s World 2 (1993), Black Sheep (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), and Almost Heroes (1998).

Death

Throughout much of his adult life, Farley suffered from troubles with alcohol and drugs due to his father’s rampant alcoholism, as well as the constant pressure that he felt to always be energetic, both on and off the camera. After a four-day binge, Farley was discovered dead in his Chicago apartment on December 18, 1997. An autopsy showed that the cause of death was an overdose of morphine and cocaine that was intensified by Farley’s pre-existing heart disease. Farley died at the age of 33, the same age at which SNL legend John Belushi also passed.

Opinion

Chris Farley was so much more than the sweaty, energetic comic that many people remember. At his core, he was a kind and innocent man who simply succumbed to the pressures of the spotlight. Farley was a maverick in the art of slapstick comedy, always blurring the boundaries of what was funny and what was physically dangerous, often risking his own personal safety for a laugh. We can only imagine the success that Farley could have achieved, had he not died so young. (Fun Fact: Farley was contracted to play the voice of Shrek, recording 80-90% of the character’s lines before his premature death)

Before SNL

Phil Hartman was born on September 24, 1948 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Over the course of his childhood, Hartman’s family moved from Ontario to Connecticut, and then later to California where he attended Westchester High School. After graduating from high school, Hartman enrolled at Santa Monica College and later at California State University, Northridge, where he majored in graphic design. Although he achieved success during his short time as a graphic designer (Fun Fact: He designed a logo for the band Crosby, Stills & Nash), Hartman decided to join the LA-based comedy group, The Groundlings in 1975.

While working as a member of The Groundlings, Hartman helped fellow cast member, Paul Reubens develop his signature character, Pee-wee Herman. Hartman would then go on to co-write the script for the 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, and in 1986 starred in the television series Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Later that year, Hartman’s friend, Jon Lovitz, encouraged SNL producer Lorne Michaels to add Hartman to the show’s cast. Impressed with Hartman’s repertoire, Lorne decided to hire Hartman as an actor and writer for the show’s upcoming season 12.

Studio 8H

Hartman found success on SNL almost immediately with his ability to produce countless, spot-on, celebrity impressions. One of Hartman’s most famous impressions was of former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Clinton McDonalds Video

During his time at SNL, Hartman was also heavily involved in a number of animated comedies that made use of his ability to personify vain characters with especially large egos (Fun Fact: Hartman’s voice appeared in 52 episodes of The Simpsons). This style of character acting carried over to his SNL work, most notably in the form of his impression of television personality Phil Donahue.

Donahue: Exploited Women Video

In 1994, Hartman decided to leave SNL after eight seasons with the show. Hartman’s departure was considered a large blow to the show’s stability by its cast and crew who collectively referred to Hartman as “the Glue” due to his friendliness and how easy it was to work with him.

Outside Work

Hartman’s first major success after leaving SNL was the 1995 primetime sitcom NewsRadio in which he played egocentric news anchor, Bill McNeil.

Hartman also starred as a narcissistic villain in two 1996 films, Sgt. Bilko with Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, as well as Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Death

For several years, Hartman and his wife, Brynn Omdahl Hartman, had been having marital problems due to Omdahl’s alcohol and drug addictions. During the evening of May 27, 1998, Hartman and Omdahl had a heated argument that ended with Hartman telling Omdahl that he would leave her if she didn’t seek help for her addictions. Later that night at 3am, Omdahl entered the bedroom they shared together and fatally shot Hartman three times with a .38 caliber handgun before later committing suicide; police autopsies of Omdahl’s body showed that she was intoxicated and on cocaine at the time of the murder. Hartman’s close friend, Jon Lovitz later claimed that Hartman’s NewsRadio co-star, Andy Dick was indirectly responsible for the death of both Hartman and Omdahl (If you want to read about how Lovitz beat the shit out of Andy Dick, click here).

Opinion

Before writing this, I personally didn’t know much about the life of Phil Hartman. What was particularly astonishing to me was that Hartman was born in 1948 making him older than SNL legends John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray. Had Hartman found his calling for comedy earlier and been a part of the original cast of SNL in 1975 instead of a former graphic designer just joining The Groundlings, he could have done so much for comedy as whole. I can only imagine what films like Animal House, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters would have been like if a young Phil Hartman had been among their casts.