Chris Farley

Chris received a loving tribute 10½ years after his death in the Wisconsin Historical Museum's 6-month long exhibit titled "Chris Farley Remembered" (May 6, 2008 - November 15, 2008). The Farley presentation is the first in a series in which the museum, located in Chris' hometown of Madison, showcases entertainers who were born, raised or attended school in Wisconsin. The exhibit, featuring everything from Farley's Edgewood High School football jersey to his renowned jacket and tie from his Saturday Night Live breakthrough character, motivational speaker Matt Foley, opened to coincide with the publication of The Chris Farley Show, recollections of Chris from the Farley family, friends, coworkers and others co-written by his oldest brother, Tom Farley, who helped provide the museum with many Chris Farley artifacts. The Farley collection, including a letter from David Letterman urging Chris to appear as a guest star on Late Night to promote Beverly Hills Ninja ("As you know, my background is martial arts," Letterman wisecracked.) is accompanied by a continuous loop showing snippets of Farley's comedy routines, Matt Foley scenes included.

Chris, while a comedic actor on Saturday Night Live who idolized alumni cast member John Belushi to the point of obsession, would wear Belushi's pants from wardrobe whenever he could find any, sometimes, inexplicably wearing two pairs at a time.

Chris was booked to help lure Middle American viewers to the Oscars in 1997, a year when art movies and obscure actors captured most of the nominations. The tactic was unsuccessful-- it was the lowest-rated Oscar show in eleven years.