Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
Saturday Night Live
-
Scarlett Johansson Reveals Which 'SNL' Joke From Husband Colin Jost Made Her "Black Out"
-
Eddie Murphy Says Old Joke David Spade Made On 'SNL' About Him Was 'Racist'
-
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Problemista’ on Max, Julio Torres' Wearingly Weird Comedy About the Immigrant Experience
-
Anthony Michael Hall Recalls Starring On 'SNL's "Worst" Season
It has been a stellar week for remembering the late, great Chris Farley. First, we were treated to a press conference by Andrew Giuliani, son of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, which brought us all the way back to Rudy’s first year as mayor and little Andy’s upstaging moments, brought to life on Saturday Night Live in 1994 by Farley.
And then, promoting his new puppet primetime spoof that premiered Thursday night (April 29) on FOX, Let’s Be Real, comedian Robert Smigel also got real about Farley.
Smigel told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show that some of his fellow SNL alums (Chris Rock was one) and mutual friends thought Farley’s legendary Chippendales sketch alongside Patrick Swayze in 1990 “was the first step in killing (Farley)…because he had no respect for himself.” Farley died in 1997 from a drug overdose, at the age of 33.
But Smigel defended Farley, and the sketch.
“What was amazing about the sketch and what people forget is that Farley was incredibly nimble,” Smigel told Stern. “He was an athlete, and he danced incredibly well in that sketch, actually. And he had this fantastic energy. And like, in a way, it was like a very empowering sketch. And I think that’s what people felt the first time they watched it, like, ‘Look at this guy go and be completely proud, just unashamed and going for it.'”
“He’s an amazing physical comedian!” Smigel added. “He was the most explosively funny person. I think most people who were at that time would agree with that.”
