The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts (Hardcover)

by Tom Farley (Author), Tanner Colby (Author)
Key Phrases: super fans, pump room, polar bear pit, Saturday Night Live, Second City, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, May 2008: You don't have to be a rabid Chris Farley fan to enjoy The Chris Farley Show, an honest, endearing oral biography about a truly funny, deeply troubled addict that is as likely to make you cry as it is to make you laugh out loud. Made up mostly of excerpts from intimate interviews with family, childhood friends, famous castmates, and writers, The Chris Farley Show is a vivid portrait of a performer, told plainly by the people who knew him best at every stage of his life. These hundred or so interviews piece together the complex back-story of a hugely talented, big-hearted guy who could make the funniest people in the business laugh with "just a look," but whose vulnerability and "puppy dog personality" charmed friends and family into letting him off the hook--preventing him from getting help when he needed it most. Funny and heart wrenching, The Chris Farley Show is a must-read for fans of Farley and of the people who loved him (including David Spade, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows), as well as anyone looking for a glimpse into life on the stage. --Daphne Durham

From Publishers Weekly
Chris Farley's older brother Tom is director of the Chris Farley Foundation, an institution dedicated to educating young people about addiction and inspired by the tragic early death of his comedian sibling. Farley has teamed up with Colby (coauthor of Belushi: A Biography and also a National Lampoon Radio Hour head writer) for this rip-roaring memory mosaic, talking to all the people who either knew Chris the best or were there at the important moments in his life. The interview quotes have been rearranged into a chronological narrative, which starts with Farley's childhood pranks in Madison, Wis., and moves on to the Marquette University theatricals that revealed Farley's flair for improv. Chicago's Second City catapulted him to Saturday Night Live, where he performed many well-remembered characters. Next came movies, but drugs, alcohol and rehab lurked in the background of his rise to fame. Molly Shannon recalled: He was just indulging in everything: girls, Chinese food, drugs, booze, cold syrup. Everything. With talents such as Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Conan O'Brien and David Spade analyzing his humor and detailing Farley's escapades and hijinks, this is a boisterous book the comedian's fans will want to buy, borrow or steal. (May)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670019232
• ISBN-13: 978-0670019236
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I cried through the last two chapters., May 11, 2008

By	D. Jansing (Rome, New York United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, May 18, 2008

By	G. Thomas - See all my reviews

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book...still thinking about it days later, May 28, 2008

A Kid's Review

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.