In the late 1980s, he drew laughs and occasionally tugged heartstrings from the Second City stage, playing such roles as Whale Boy, who sprouted water out of his forehead, and a drunken son picked up by his father at the police station.
After Chris Farley became famous on television’s “Saturday Night Live” and in movies, he would still return to the Old Town comedy club. He would laugh heartily at the ensemble’s latest offering and sometimes joined the admiring cast for post-show improvisation, which might end with him doing the splits at the expense of his pants.
Second City was a sadder place Thursday night as audience and cast members processed the news of his death. But Second City officials maintained a low-key, show-must-go-on attitude.
At the end of Thursday’s Mainstage performance, cast member Kevin Dorff came out and paid emotional tribute to Farley, with whom he had shared the stage in the past.
“Shakespeare said, `Brevity is the soul of wit,’ and Chris had the soul of a comedian . . . his life was all too brief,” he said, choking back tears.
“While he was here, he made a lot of people laugh, and we also know that his life was full of joy.”
Farley’s talent–and the pressures that accompanied them– could be seen back when he was honing his talents on Chicago’s improvisation scene.
“He was a great improviser– very funny on stage but also very serious, very dramatic,” recalled Charna Halpern, director of ImprovOlympic, where Farley performed before joining Second City.
“I remember a piece he did at Second City with Joel Murray,” whose brother Bill was an “SNL” star. “Joel played his father getting him out of the drunk tank. It was a cool scene, a very emotional scene.”
Halpern remained friends with Farley, whom she described as “like a little boy. He never thought anything would ever happen to him, I don’t think.”
Still, she said they discussed his weight and substance abuse.
“Chris was compulsive,” Halpern said. “He loved everything, and he loved it to a great extent. He’d drink a lot, play a lot, party a lot. Chris couldn’t do anything halfway. We were concerned, and he was concerned.”
She said she had just visited Farley’s Hancock Center condominium recently. “He acted out his favorite movie, `Caddyshack,’ ” Halpern said. “We talked about his drinking, and I said if anything happened to him . . . that my anger would follow him through eternity.
“He reacted very strongly in a funny way. He was like `Jesus!’ like I was putting a curse on him.”
Halpern said she warned Farley against hangers-on. “There’s a lot of scum who would follow Farley around and give him drugs,” she said. “I’ve thrown people out of his apartment.”
She said Farley was looking forward to doing more dramatic work, “hoping to show people what he could do.” She noted that he was considering playing Fatty Arbuckle in a movie about that troubled actor. “He was looking forward to showing people his other side.”
Halpern said after she heard the news of his death, “I’m angry because he had so much to do yet. It’s way too soon. He’s probably angry too. He’s probably hitting himself in the head going, `I’m so dumb!’ “