It seems impossible, but Chris Farley passed away 21 years ago on December 18, 1997. Everything else from the ’90s feels like it happened a million years ago, including when he was co-starring along guys like Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. It was an era of the show that so many of us grew up adoring. Yet somehow it feels like it was only yesterday that we were watching Chris Farley tell us about living in a van down by the river, or trying to save his family’s auto parts factory.
It’s like he never left, though everyone feared he would. He still means so much to millions of fans, so we can only imagine the gigantic hole he left in the hearts of those who knew him best. For them, his passing was a gigantic loss, one Adam Sandler beautifully captured in his Netflix special 100% Fresh, when he performed a melancholy musical tribute to his late friend. And today, on the sad anniversary of when we all said goodbye to the comedian with a big heart, Netflix shared the touching ode to one of the funniest people ever.
How amazing was Chris Farley? An Adam Sandler song has us crying, and not from laughter. And we don’t mean that in a snarky way. That era of SNL is one of the show’s golden periods, and those two guys were comedy gods to a generation of fans…Chris Farley will always be, because while he might be gone, he’ll always live on.
Featured Image: Netflix
