Movies - TV
One Of Chris Farley's Signature SNL Skits Was Never Meant To Make It To Air
By CHRISTIAN GAINEY
Chris Farley dominated any stage or set he was ever on and for five seasons on "SNL," Farley kept audiences in stitches with characters like Gap Girl Cindy, Lunch Lady, and Matt Foley. Even with Farley's power on stage, the writer behind one of his most popular skits, "The Chris Farley Show," never thought it would make it to the airwaves.
According to a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, "SNL" scribe Tom Davis said that head writer Jim Downey wrote the skit which featured Farley as a starstruck host who interviews celebrities initially as a joke. Davis said, "I thought it was too inside, so it would never make it on the air, but Lorne [Michaels] liked it immediately."
"The Chris Farley Show" premiered on "SNL" on October 5, 1991, and featured a bumbling Farley, stumbling through an interview with a visibly uncomfortable Jeff Daniels. Audiences were charmed by Farley’s stage presence and the comedian also enjoyed doing "The Chris Farley Show" because it probably meant that he got to take a break from doing "fatty falls down" skits.
Downer told Entertainment Weekly he was prepared to let the segment die after two episodes, but Farley fought for one more. Maybe he insisted because he had the chance to run the skit with one of his favorite musicians, Paul McCartney, or maybe he just wanted to keep doing a skit that didn't mock his weight.