Jim Farley and Chris Farley.Photo:Spencer Platt/Getty
Spencer Platt/Getty
Thursday marks what would have beenChris Farley’s60th birthday, and his cousin, Ford executive Jim Farley, is remembering what a real life goofball he truly was.
“Chris worked really hard at getting kicked out of any organized event for our family,” Farley toldKelly Clarkson— who was a guest on his podcastDrive with Jim Farley, where he talks to Ford car fans like Clarkson,Matthew McConaugheyandSydney Sweeney— last month.
His says his cousin, who tragically died of a drug overdose on Dec. 18, 1997 at age 33, two years after his memorable run onSaturday Night Live, was always total prankster who would do anything for a gag, even before he was famous.
“One time we had a family reunion, and I think he had gotten kicked out of college for his fourth time. And he had just lost his job as a swimming guard in Madison, Wisconsin, which is like a two-month job, max. It’s seasonal. He lost that job because he partied all night and slept through it,” Jim said. “So we went to a bar, and he stole every picture in the bar and brought them home to our house. The police came the next day because the bar wanted their pictures back.”
Chris Farley in 1990.Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
“That was Chris. He was always the same guy,” he added.
However, he says that wasn’t even his cousin’smostmemorable wild moment.
“He started a Cinnabon fight in the Chicago O’Hare Airport,” Farley recalled. “We were trying to get back to Chicago for my grandmother’s funeral. He bought all of the Cinnabons out of the restaurant in O’Hare Airport and then gave them to people and we started a huge food fight.”
The move didn’t go over well with authorities, Jim revealed.
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“I have a thousand different stories like that for Chris,” he added.
So does everyone else who knew and loved him.
In the documentaryI Am Chis Farley, Chris' brother Kevin recalled an incident that got him kicked out of school as a teen after he pulled out his penis during class on a dare and continued to type as though nothing was amiss. The class howled with laughter — the teacher, not so much.
David Space, Chris Rock and Chris Farley.KMazur/WireImage
“It was funny,” recalled Kevin, noting that even their dad couldn’t help but laugh about it. The stunt got him kicked out of school for a semester.
In the documentary, Chris’s friend, comedian and actorBob Odenkirk, also shared that Chris harbored a lot of insecurity, which was often related to his weight and being typecast as “the fat guy.”
Odenkirk, 61, said that he told Chris to go out and be the funniest fat guy he could be — which Farley naturally did.
In 1997, Farley was found dead in his Chicago apartment of a drug overdose, and his loss still stings those that knew and loved him.
During an appearance onDavid SpadeandDana Carvey’sFly on the Wallpodcast back in December 2022,Chris Rocksaid the star was beyond funny — he was pure talent.
“It’s sad when our friend’s not here, but it is curious to [think] ‘Wow, what would that guy have done?'” Rock, 59, said. “When I see Sandler in something likeUncut Gems, it’s like, ‘Yeah, Farley could have done that. He’s literally that level of actor, and that level of like, you just felt for that guy. Whatever ride Chris Farley was going to take me on, I was definitely ready to go on it.”
source: people.com
