The Chris Farley Show was a sketch from the American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

TV series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', which involved comic actor

Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the ...

, as a parody of himself, interviewing various celebrities. Rather than ask his guest questions that had any popular significance, or allow his guest to plug a current project, he would invariably act nervously, and simply describe scenes from a film in which the guest actor appeared (or occasionally films that had nothing to do with the guest). After asking the performer whether he remembered this particular event, Farley would relate, "That was awesome." Other times, he would ask questions that were of little relevance, or made no sense at all. Invariably, he would say something he regretted and would smack his head and call himself an idiot. The sketch accentuated Farley's shyness for comic effect.

Sketches

Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels was the first guest of ''The Chris Farley Show'' when it premiered on October 5, 1991. Daniels was appearing to promote his newest movie, ''

The Butcher's Wife ''The Butcher's Wife'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy film, directed by Terry Hughes and starring Demi Moore and Jeff Daniels. The film concerns a clairvoyant woman (Moore) thinks that she's met her future husband, whom she has seen in her ...

''. Daniels gives mostly yes or no answers to Farley's questions regarding whether or not he remembers certain scenes of movies. The episode also features a question from a caller, who mimics Farley's "d'you remember" questions. Eventually, Farley and the caller ignore Jeff Daniels and reminisce about the previous episode, in which the same caller asked Arnold Schwarzenegger a question.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

was the second guest on the show. Originally aired on November 16, 1991, Scorsese appeared to promote his film '' Cape Fear''. As with the first sketch, Farley introduces himself, stumbles over his words, and eventually discusses action movies with his guest before taking a caller. The caller asks Scorsese a question germane to filmmaking, but Farley remarks she called in before, on an unseen show where he interviewed

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

. The conversation steers back to action films, in this case a minor scene from ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Al ...

'', where Farley was impressed that John McClane had to make his way across a floor full of broken glass without shoes.

Paul McCartney

In the third and final ''Chris Farley Show'' sketch aired on February 13, 1993,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, that night's musical guest, was the guest on Farley's show. Farley acted awestruck and giddy in the former Beatle's presence, repeatedly asking ridiculous questions, typically starting with "Do you remember when you were in The Beatles?" or "That was a hoax, right?" in reference to rumors of McCartney's death, to which he gives one (or few) word answers. Farley attempts a serious question, asking about when the singer was arrested at

Narita Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

for possession of marijuana, while McCartney replies he is ashamed and sensitive about that incident. Farley then says "I am so stupid!", and McCartney consoles him that being in show business he must face up to it, as he was asked the same question by

Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...

earlier. Farley then trails off, saying Shriver is married to Arnold Schwarzenegger, then asks, "Did you see ''

Terminator Terminator may refer to: Science and technology Genetics * Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription * Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...

''?" This is the only ''Chris Farley Show'' sketch not to feature a guest caller, and as the scene fades out, Farley is conversing with McCartney recommending the Schwarzenegger film.

Biography title

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...

named after the sketch, ''The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts'' was released on May 6, 2008, and was co-written by Tom Farley, Jr. (Chris Farley's brother) and Tanner Colby. It features anecdotes by his friends and family. The novel was named Amazon Best of the Month by Amazon.com in May, 2008. Co-author Colby is also credited with co-writing

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

's biography, ''Belushi: A Biography''. Farley was notorious for following in the footsteps of Belushi, both dying at age 33 from drug-related heart attacks.

External links