American actor and comedian known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and as a member of Chicago’s Second City Theatre and later as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live between 1990 and 1995. He then went on to pursue a film career, appearing in films such as Coneheads (1993), Tommy Boy (1995), Billy Madison (1995), Black Sheep (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), Dirty Work (1988) and Almost Heroes (1998).
Farley was an obese child who grew into an obese man. In early 1997, he tipped the scales at 170 kg (375 lb) on only a 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) frame. He was taunted as a kid but learned to get the approval he craved by acting the comic, slapstick or verbal riffs. His idol was John Belushi, another comic who burned out with overweight problems and the fast life of excessive indulgence. In 1997 Farley went to AA to seek help in food and substance addiction, but by November he was back to the high life.
On 18 December 1997, Farley was found dead by his younger brother, John, in his apartment in the John Hancock Center in Chicago. He was 33 years old. An autopsy revealed that Farley had died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine, a combination called a speedball. Advanced atherosclerosis was cited as a “significant contributing factor.” Farley’s death has been compared to that of his SNL idol John Belushi, who died at the same age of a similar combination of drugs.
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