The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts
by Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
List Price:
Our Price: $5.52
You Save: $21.43 (80%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tanner Colby, Tom FarleyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2008-05-06
ISBN: 1616804580
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Viking Adult
Book Reviews of The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts
Book Review: An extraordinarily moving biography
Summary: 5 Stars
The Chris Farley Show is one of the most incredibly moving nonfiction books I've ever read.
It would be hard for any book to not be at least somewhat moving with this subject matter, as Chris Farley was by all accounts an incredibly unique, warm-hearted, and desperately troubled person. But the book's emotional impact is significantly enhanced by its format: Other than some brief narratives to transition the chapters, the book is entirely excerpts from interviews of almost 100 people who knew Chris personally. People as close as his brothers and childhood friends, as well as his famous co-stars at Saturday Night Live and those who worked with him on the movies he starred in before his horrific death at age 33.
Particularly touching are the interviews with David Spade and the extent to which Spade is willing to cast a negative light on himself and freely admit the sources of the tension between the two. The editors (one of whom is Chris' brother, Tom) seem to have gathered an incredible amount of honesty from all interview subjects--Penelope Spheeris' attempts to blame David Spade for the failure of Black Sheep is eye-opening. To hear Chris Rock and Bob Odenkirk directly identify the beloved Chippendales sketch as potentially being the tipping point of Chris' fall is also chilling. And the book's sole contribution from Chevy Chase, which is printed on the back, magnifies the sadness of such a wasted talent.
I don't know why I haven't seen this format before, but it is absolutely brilliant. The interviews are edited together spectacularly to paint the exact picture of Chris' life chronologically, while still maintaining the importance of the entire story being told from the real words of those who knew and loved him. It means so much more to read Adam Sandler's exact words, rather than some Wikipedia-type historical narrative that references Sandler's thoughts.
Chris Farley, an absolutely brilliant and tragic hero of modern comedy, receives the honor that his work deserved, but still the spotlight shines brightly on his senseless suicide spiral with hopes that it can be avoided by others. This is a beautiful book, a modern classic of Hollywood biographies, and a must-read for everyone who still can't help but smile at the phrase "van down by the river."
Summary of The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts
A biography of the Saturday Night Live star as told by his friends and familyNo one dominated a stage the way Chris Farley did. For him, comedy was not a routine; it was a way of life. He could not enter a room unnoticed or let a conversation go without making someone laugh. Fans knew Chris as Saturday Night Live?s sweaty, swaggering, motivational speaker; as the irresistible Chippendales stripper; and as Tommy Callahan, the underdog hero of Tommy Boy. His family knew him as sensitive and passionate, deeply religious, and devoted to bringing laughter into others? lives.
But Chris did not know moderation, either in his boundless generosity toward friends or in the reckless abandon of his drug and alcohol abuse. For ten years, Chris cycled in and out of rehabilitation centers, constantly fighting his insecurities and his fears. Despite three hard-fought years of sobriety, addiction would ultimately take his life at the tragically young age of thirty-three. Fame on SNL and three straight number-one box office hits gave way to a string of embarrassing public appearances, followed by a fatal overdose in December 1997.
Here is Chris Farley as remembered by his family, friends, and colleagues?the true story of a man who lived to make us laugh and died as a result. The Chris Farley Show is an evocative and harrowing portrait of a family trapped by addiction, a father forced to bury a son, and a gifted and kindhearted man ultimately torn apart by the demons inside him.
Amazon Best of the Month, May 2008: You don't have to be a rabid Chris Farley fan to enjoy The Chris Farley Show, an honest, endearing oral biography about a truly funny, deeply troubled addict that is as likely to make you cry as it is to make you laugh out loud. Made up mostly of excerpts from intimate interviews with family, childhood friends, famous castmates, and writers, The Chris Farley Show is a vivid portrait of a performer, told plainly by the people who knew him best at every stage of his life. These hundred or so interviews piece together the complex back-story of a hugely talented, big-hearted guy who could make the funniest people in the business laugh with "just a look," but whose vulnerability and "puppy dog personality" charmed friends and family into letting him off the hook--preventing him from getting help when he needed it most. Funny and heart wrenching, The Chris Farley Show is a must-read for fans of Farley and of the people who loved him (including David Spade, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows), as well as anyone looking for a glimpse into life on the stage. --Daphne Durham
Actors & Actresses Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Actors & Actresses Books
Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoirby Claire Bloom
Little Brown & Co (T); Published: 1996-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
Ginger Rogers: A Bio-Bibliography (Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts)by Jocelyn Faris
Greenwood; Published: 1994-03-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $76.13
Price in other shops:
But We Need the Eggs: The Magic of Woody Allenby Diane Jacobs
St Martins Pr; Published: 1982-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $98.81
Astaire and Rogers (Film and Culture Series)by Edward Gallafent
Columbia University Press; Published: 2004-07-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.22
Price in other shops:
The Good, the Bad, and Me: In My Anecdotageby Eli Wallach
Mariner Books; Published: 2006-05-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.42
Price in other shops:
On The Couchby Lorraine Bracco
Penguin Audio; Published: 2006-06-06; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $1.00
Price in other shops:
A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorceby Alec Baldwin
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
There and Back Again: An Actor's Taleby Sean Astin, Joe Layden
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Pieces of My Heart Low Price CDby Robert J. Wagner
HarperAudio; Published: 2009-09-15; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $7.81
Price in other shops:
Model Patient: My Life As an Incurable Wise-Assby Karen Duffy
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2001-11-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.86
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazyby Bill Carter
Viking Adult; Published: 2010-11-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
The Tragic Clowns: An Analysis of the Short Lives of John Belushi, Lenny Bruce, and Chris Farley.by Joe Guse
CreateSpace; Published: 2009-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Liveby Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2002-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris FarleyFARLEY,CHRIS; Release date: 2003-10-28; DVD
Best price: $4.18
Price in other shops:
It's Not Easy Bein' Me : A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugsby Rodney Dangerfield
Published: 2005-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
Too Fat to Fishby Artie Lange, Anthony Bozza
Spiegel & Grau; Published: 2009-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.10
Price in other shops:
Belushi: A Biographyby Judith Jacklin Belushi, Tanner Colby
Rugged Land; Published: 2005-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
Gasping for Airtime: Two Years In the Trenches of Saturday Night Liveby Jay Mohr
Hyperion; Published: 2005-07-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.57
Price in other shops:
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Lifeby Steve Martin
Scribner; Published: 2008-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guestsby Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller
Back Bay Books; Published: 2003-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.23
Price in other shops: