FUNNYMAN FARLEY FOUND
DEAD AT 33
By
Allen Salkin and Ward Morehouse III
and Tracy Connor
Chris Farley, the
hard-living, jelly-bellied
"Saturday Night Live" comic
and film star, was found dead
yesterday of an apparent heart attack
in his Chicago apartment. He was 33.
An autopsy is
scheduled for today on the 290-pound
Farley, who police said was found by
a brother in his 60th-floor apartment
in the 98-story John Hancock Building
on Chicago's Miracle Mile.
The Cook County
Medical Examiner's Office said
Farley's body - clad in pajama
bottoms - was found on the floor in
the entrance to his apartment, No.
6002. A source said there was a red
fluid, believed tobe blood, around
his nose.
There was no sign
of foul play.
"It's John
Belushi all over again," a
stunned friend told The Post,
referring to the doomed comic genius
who was Farley's idol - and who also
died at 33.
The frenzied
Farley's death came as a shock to
fans and pals - despite mounting
concerns that his obesity, drug use
and wild partying would drive him to
an early grave.
"Lust,
gluttony, booze and drugs are most of
the things I confess to," Farley
told an interviewer a few months ago.
"I want to be a good Catholic,
but I'm a hedonist."
Born and raised in
Madison, Wis., Farley was a
high-school wrestling and football
star, then majored in theater studies
at Milwaukee's Marquette University.
After graduation,
he joined Chicago's famed Second City
troupe, following in the footsteps of
his hero Belushi - right down to the
physical comedy and manic behavior -
and excelling at the group's sketch
comedy.
"Saturday
Night Live" producer Lorne
Michaels discovered Farley there and
signed him to the show in 1990.
Over the next four
years, Farley channeled his
over-the-top energy into sweaty,
tightly wound characters like the
inept and overweight inspirational
speaker Matt Foley, and that of a
Chippendales dancer who thrust his
blubbery gut at the audience.
He also
impersonated House leader Newt
Gingrich - including during an
appearance before Congress.
Another Farley
character was "Relapse Man"
- and Farley, like his creation, was
in and out of rehab centers for
alcohol and drugs. Sources said he
struggled from cocaine and heroin
addictions.
"He was out of
control, especially in the last two
years," said Anthony Cappiello,
a New York stockbroker and friend of
both Farley and "SNL" alum
Nora Dunn.
Binge eating was
another lifelong struggle for Farley.
In a recent Playboy
interview, he said fudge sundaes were
his downfall, and he told of escaping
from a diet center and going on a
spree with another portly actor.
"Tom Arnold
picked me up and we went to Le Dome
and had tons of desserts," he
recalled. "Along with ^Arnold's
then-wife_ Roseanne, we used to do
that a lot.
"We would
polish off 20 desserts - ice cream,
cake, everything. But when I got back
to Pritikin, I got busted. They gave
me a test, like a Breathalyzer for
sugar."
While on
"SNL," Farley began doing
movie work, with small parts in
"Wayne's World" and
"Coneheads."
After leaving the
show in 1995, he teamed up with pal
David Spade to star in the hit flick
"Tommy Boy." Like a
modern-day Abbott and Costello, the
two went on to star in two other
films, "Black Sheep" and
"Beverly Hills Ninja."
Spade recently
admitted he was worried about his
best friend.
"You saw what
happened to John Candy and John
Belushi," Spade told Steppin'
Out magazine in a recent interview.
"^Chris is_ my
friend, and I'm just concerned. He's
so into what he does. He's so
extreme, you can see it just by
watching him on "SNL.'
"He needs to
watch his weight. He drinks too much
coffee. He smokes. Candy and Belushi
were great, but they're also not
around."
Farley's grieving
friends spoke of his
good-naturedness.
"The thing I
remember most about him is that there
was Mother's Day episode on the show
and he was so sweet with his mother
when the two of them were
together," said a former
"SNL" producer, Sissy
Biggers.
Michaels, who
launched Farley's TV career and was a
good friend, was said to be "a
wreck" after hearing about his
death.
Andrew Alexander,
executive producer of Second City,
called Farley "funny, gentle and
kind."
"Every day of
his life was devoted to entertaining
others," Alexander said.
"We will never forget the joy he
brought to others."
Al Franken, a
colleague at "Saturday Night
Live," said of Farley on Los
Angeles' KCAL-TV: "There was a
vulnerability spiced with genius; a
real talent. I wish there was another
50 years of that. The man was a
sweetheart."
In a statement from
NBC, Farley was mourned for his
"unique ability to make people
laugh."
"More
importantly, we will always remember
his warm-hearted nature and deep
commitment to his friends and the
people with whom he worked," the
statement said.
"Chris was a
puppy," said Lenette Collias,
who worked backstage at Second City
and knew Farley for several years.
"He made everyone laugh."
Movie critic Gene
Siskel said the key to Farley's brand
of comedy was playing an
"out-of-control" character
who threw a lot of weight around.
"This was an unhealthy condition
you were witnessing. I kept saying I
was worried about this guy," he
said.