The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts

by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby

Book Overview

A biography of the Saturday Night Live star as told by his friends and family, The Chris Farley Show is an evocative and harrowing portrait of a family trapped by addiction and a gifted man torn apart by his demons. Two 16-page color inserts.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670019232
• ISBN13: 9780670019236
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Heartfelt and Heartbreaking

The books is written in interviews done with those who knew Chris Farley best. It goes from co-workers, family, to a girlfriend. I thought this was a unique style that added more heart to a biography. People shared their knowledge of Chris Farley and their opinions and feelings about the matter. The fact that Chris' brother helped write it gives it more impact as well. We see why Chris Farley was such a showman starting from his childhood and from a person who would know it best and we understand just how tragic his death was for everyone. I bought this book for my own brother and have had other family members borrow it. Everyone loves the book and it gives us a lot to talk about later.

HIlarious and heartbreaking, in that order

When I was in college, I saw Tommy Boy for the first time. At one part, I laughed so hard that I fell off the sofa with tears in my eyes. I thought I was going to hurt myself. Chris Farley was from Madison, Wisconsin. Maybe it was his Midwestern roots, or his Chicago connection, or my age when he was at his peak, but he was one of my favorite comedians. This book is a hilarious and heartbreaking oral history of Chris's life by those who knew him best. I was laughing out loud at page 3, and nearly cried several times through the second half of the book. By the end, it had brought back all the good memories I had of watching his skits, and I felt like he was a friend I had grown up with. Chris would do anything to be funny: not to get a laugh, but to give a laugh. Chris believed God gave him a talent and that it was his ministry in life to make people laugh so hard they cried. This comes through loud and clear from everyone in here. People loved Farley. He walked into a room and you laughed before he could say a word. He had such a good heart and such a giving personality. What became apparent at the end of his life, was that he also had more than his fair share of demons. He wrestled with numerous addictions, constantly struggling with his weight, alcohol and drugs. He visited rehab more than a dozen times. His friends reached out to him time and again, but in the end, nobody could break his downward spiral. All the big names are in here: Dan Akroyd, Lorne Michaels, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Tom Arnold, Chris Rock--all of his fellow Saturday Night Live cast members and writers, people who knew him from Second City and The Improv Olympic, as well as childhood friends and family. They paint a portrait of a spectacular man who, at his best, could light up any room with his larger-than-life personality and, at his worst, could tear up a room with drug-crazed antics. There are a lot of facets to this book. Some celebrity exposé material, some stuff on Chris's philosophy and what it was like to work with him, and a good deal on his complicated relationship with his father and the culture of alcoholism that ran through his family. The book chronicles his many trips to rehab and subsequent relapses. It covers his movie-making, including interesting bits on the movies that he had in the works (he was originally cast as Shrek and had recorded a good portion of the film and was trying to get a Fatty Arbuckle biopic off the ground). It talks about his deep faith and superstitious quirks. It talked about his on-the-set antics and friendships. But the most touching thing, I thought, was the amount of charity work he did unbeknownst to many of his closest friends. He visited old folks' homes and hospitals regularly. He befriended a homeless man with whom he had dinner weekly and treated to plays and concerts (something nobody knew about until the man spoke at Chris' funeral). The toughest part of this book is that even as you find more and more to

Great book...still thinking about it days later

I've never written a review on this before, but I always read them because the reviews really help me decide whether or not to read a book. However, after reading this, I just had to write something because this book really touched me. I am 25 years old and I basically grew up loving Chris Farley on SNL and his movies. As a teenager I was very naive to the thought of anyone on SNL doing drugs especially Chris. I finished this book in less than a week, which is probably the fastest i've ever finished any book. It was an easy read and I found it very hard to put down, and when I did, I was still thinking about what was going to come next. I almost talked myself out of reading the last chapters because ultimately we all know how it's going to end. But of course I couldn't help myself. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be so sad, the worst part for me was the explanation of his last three or four days, down to the hour of his death. It was so tragic that I was thinking of it all night, and it kept me awake almost all night, just recounting everything in my head. However, like someone said by the end of this book you really feel as though you know Chris as a person and as a friend. It's almost like you're reading about someone you've known for years. This book tells you some things you never would have thought of Chris both good and bad. I loved it, and I've been recommending it to people since I finished page one.

Fatty Falls Down......

Chris Farley was hilarious, a great friend, a devout Catholic, a generous giver and a raging alcholic and hardcore drug user! This biography of his life, written by his brother Tom Farley and Tanner Colby is excellent. I think they paid a great respect to Chris by writing this book. It covers Chris's life from childhood to highschool/college, from his early comedy days in Chicago all the way to SNL and his untimely death in December 1997. The book features short stories from over 100 of Chris's friends, family and fellow comedians. Tim Meadows, David Spade, Chris Rock, Lorne Michaels, John Goodman and Tom Arnold just to name a few. Like most of America, I loved Chris Farley on SNL and his movies. Unfortunatley he couldn't love himself or get over his idea that no one really liked him for him, they just wanted to see "fatty fall down". Not to mention his constant battle with drugs, alcohol and depression throughout his career. This book will make you smile and laugh (hard) at times and then make you sad as Chris slips away up until his death. Before Chris died he had many other projects set up that we never got see like, The Gelfin w/ Vince Vaughn, which was never finished. Chris was the original Shrek, wow, how funny would that have been and he was in line to play the lead character in the movie Cable Guy, Jim Carrey eventually took the part. Great book, amazing life story of a once in a lifetime comedian!

Heartbreaking

If you are a fan of Chris Farley, read this book. It offers insight from the people who knew him best. However, I wonder why Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider didn't contribute more to the book. Just looking at the "public persona" of Chris Farley, you would never know about the dysfunctional, co-dependent family, the over-the-top, self-destructive, addictive behavior, all of the people who tried to help him and constantly warned him about his actions, and the deep seated self-doubt and insecurities that the man had. This book wasn't the humorous book that I expected, but I feel like I know and understand Chris Farley after reading it. Act I tells of his formative years, from childhood through his early experiences in comedy (Second City), to eventually being hired by SNL, all the while trying to keep his binges in check and surviving as a "functioning" addict. Act II covers a three year period of his life in the 90's, after a successful stint in rehab, and is a sort of "what could have been" had he stayed straight. Act III is terribly heartbreaking as the addiction takes control of his life and ultimately kills him.

I cried through the last two chapters.

This was such a moving tragedy, I just couldn't help myself. I was 17 when John Belushi died. I still remember being interviewed by some guy at the MEPS when I went into the Army in 1982 - "You don't do any of that stuff like Belushi did, speedballs or anything, right?" Considering that Belushi died in 1980, it was something that this memory was still fresh in the minds of so many people. Chris Farley could have been somebody like that. In many ways, I found him more likable than Belushi was, and every bit as talented. It is a tragedy that all of this pure talent, this spirit that Chris was born with, had gone to waste like that. This book should be required reading for anyone studying substance abuse and the effect it has not only on the individual, but on those close to the abuser. I could feel the exhaustion that the interviewees felt as Chris sunk further and further toward oblivion. They all wanted to save him, but in the end, they were powerless to do much of anything. I couldn't imagine being one of those who subjected themselves to the brutality of 20/20 hindsight later on - "if only I had...." I read that he was originally cast as Shrek with particular interest, and I imagined what that film would have been like with Farley delivering the line at the beginning of the film, "this is the part when you RUN!!!!!!!" I will be first in line when they sell the Shrek DVD with the Farley soundtrack. That must have been, as Chris might have said, "awesome."