Watching Chris Farley still feels weird. Everyone’s favorite era of Saturday Night Live tends to be the one they grew up with, and for me, that was the SNL of the mid-’90s, when the show was the stomping grounds of Norm Macdonald, Mike Myers, Molly Shannon, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Ellen Cleghorne, and Phil Hartman. And looming among them—sometimes literally—was Farley, who wholeheartedly committed to every sketch, from his Chippendales dance-off with Patrick Swayze to telling Christina Applegate what it was like to live in a van down by the river. By the time Tommy Boy came out, Farley’s stardom seemed certain. Farley died at 33; he should’ve just been getting started.
With honor and distinction, Erik Henriksen served as the executive editor of the Portland Mercury from 2004 to 2020. He can now be found at henriksenactual.com. More by Erik Henriksen