Chris Farley Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Christopher Crosby Farley was born in February 1964 to an Irish Catholic family in Wisconsin, which is where he also grew up. His father owned an oil company and his mom was a homemaker. He had four siblings - three brothers and a sister. During many of his summers he was both a camper and a counselor at Red Arrow Camp, a camp in Wisconsin. He did spend time in New York City as an adult when he was on the TV show "Saturday Night Live."

Answer: Marquette University

Chris attended Marquette University, which is located in Wisconsin, and graduated in 1986. While there he studied Theater and Communications and played rugby union. It was while at university that Chris discovered his love of comedy. After graduating he worked with his dad for a bit and studied improv at the Ark Improv Theatre in Madison.

Answer: Chicago

After learning improv under Dennis Kern at Ark Improv, Chris moved to Chicago. While there, he first performed at a theater and training center called Improv Olympic. He then joined Second City Theater, starting the same day as Stephen Colbert. Chris was a part of the touring group and was promoted to their main stage in 1989. A year later he would join the cast of "Saturday Night Live."

Answer: Bad Boys of SNL

Chris joined the cast at "Saturday Night Live" in 1990 along with Chris Rock. He was a cast member at the same time as Adam Sandler, David Spade, Tim Meadows, and Rob Schneider, and it was this group that earned the nickname and for good reason. The tamest of their antics included prank calls and mooning cars, and Farley was apparently known for getting naked and acting like the serial killer from the movie "Silence of the Lambs." He was fired from the show in 1995, along with Adam Sandler.

Answer: Down by the river

One of his most famous characters was motivational speaker Matt Foley, who was originally created by Bob Odenkirk when he was at Second City with Chris. Chris brought Foley to life in a great big over the top way, reminding everyone that he "lived in a van down by the river." Other famous characters while Chris was on the show were Chicago native Todd O'Connor (famous for saying "da Bears"), a "Gap Girl" and a wannabe Chippendale dancer who famously competed against Patrick Swayze in a dance competition.

Answer: True

Chris appeared in a number of comedies. In "Wayne's World" he had a small part as a security guard at an Alice Cooper concert. He also appeared in "Coneheads", "Airheads", "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep." The latter two were his first two major movies. He starred in them with David Spade, and they were quite successful. Following their success, he starred in "Beverly Hills Ninja." Two final movies, "Almost Heroes" and "Dirty Work", were released after his death.

Answer: All That

Chris was in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Soul to Squeeze". The band dedicated a line in the song "Purple Stain" to him after he died. He was also a guest on the Nickelodeon show "All That" in 1997, along with fellow "Saturday Night Live" performer Kenan Thompson. On the show, Chris was visibly struggling, wheezing, and having difficulty with the physical comedy for which he was well known.

Answer: Drug overdose

Sadly, Chris suffered from drug and alcohol abuse for most of his adult life, and this took its toll. Professionally, he was suspended more than once from "Saturday Night Live" because of his addiction. His health suffered because of this addiction, and through 1997, the final year of his life, his health visibly declined. He passed away on December 18, 1997, at the age of 33. He was found by his brother at his home in Chicago, having died from an overdose of a combination of morphine and cocaine.

A funeral was held on December 23, 1997, for Chris in Wisconsin, which was attended by over five hundred people, including many fellow comedians and actors who had worked with him on "Saturday Night Live." A notable absence was his good friend David Spade, who said it was just too difficult for him to attend. His remains are buried at Resurrection Cemetery, which is located in Wisconsin.

Answer: Shrek

When Chris passed away, he was in the process of doing the voice recordings for the movie "Shrek." He was between 85% and 95% finished when he tragically died. The film-makers did not want to finish the film without him and decided to re-record everything using the voice of Mike Myers. Chris was set to be the voice of another animated film called "Dinosaur" and he was in talks to do a movie with Vince Vaughn called "The Gelfin", to appear in the third installment of "Ghostbusters", and to play the title role of "Captain Underpants."

He was also in talks to star in a movie about Fatty Arbuckle, and here's where things get interesting. The making of a movie about Arbuckle is said to be cursed because not only Farley, but also John Candy and John Belushi, were interested in playing this part. All three of the comedians passed away before the films could be made.

Answer: I am Chris Farley

There have been a number of tributes to Chris. In 2005 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His brother made a biography about him called "The Chris Farley Show", and a television documentary called "I am Chris Farley" was made in 2015.

The documentary includes interviews with many actors and comedians including Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, David Spade, and Tom Arnold. The film focuses on the impact his time at Second City and "Saturday Night Live" had on him. Adam Sandler wrote a tribute song for his friend Chris and performed it when he came back to host "Saturday Night Live" in 2019.