Adam Sandler Celebrates Chris Farley Before What Would Have Been His 59th Birthday
Adam Sandler paid tribute to Saturday Night Live comedy legend Chris Farley ahead of what would have been his 59th birthday had he not died more than 25 years ago. The feelings of loss still overwhelm his SNL peers sometimes, and Sandler revealed he still gets “so emotional” about his friend when he sings a song dedicated to him. But he’s not the only one.
Chris Farley died before his 34th birthday
Born Feb. 15, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin, Farley was an athletic youth before he turned to comedy (per Biography). His size gave him an advantage in sports like hockey, but his classmates shamed him about his body.
Joking about his weight before anyone else became a defense mechanism that made him rich and famous. Unfortunately, he proved that a multi-million dollar net worth couldn’t solve the root of his problems.
“I used to think that you could get to a level of success where the laws of the universe didn’t apply,” he confessed to Playboy in 1997 (Biography). “But they do. It’s still life on life’s terms, not on movie-star terms.”
He added, “I still have to work at relationships. I still have to work on my weight and some of my other demons.”
“Once I thought that if I just had enough in the bank, if I had enough fame, that it would be all right. But I’m a human being like everyone else,” he concluded. “I’m not exempt.”
Sadly, Farley died of an accidental drug overdose on Dec. 18, 1997.
Adam Sandler paid tribute to Chris Farley with a song before his birthday
When Sandler performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 8, 2023, he paid tribute to his friend in the days before what would have been his 59th birthday with a performance of his touching tribute, the “Chris Farley Song.” It’s worth noting Sandler also showed off some impressive guitar-playing skills during the performance.
Lyrics include, “On a Saturday night my man would always deliver / Whether he was the Bumblebee Girl or livin’ in a van down by the river / He loved the Bears and Ditka, danced at Chippendale’s with Swayze / When they replaced his coffee with Folgers he went f***in’ crazy.”
“The sexiest Gap Girl and Meatloaf in the band / Without him there’d be no Lunch Lady in Lunch Lady Land / You know I’m thinkin’ about, I’m thinkin’ about my boy Chris Farley.”
David Spade sometimes can’t listen to Adam Sandler sing his Chris Farley tribute song
Sandler spoke about his tribute song on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, revealing that it causes fellow SNL alum David Spade to get overwhelmed with emotion. “He’s like, ‘Man, sometimes I can’t listen, I gotta walk away because I get so upset,’” Sandler said (per Today).
He added, “We loved him. We loved him so much … He was as cool as it gets.”
The versatile movie star revealed he still gets “so emotional” when he sings his tribute to his late friend but loves “hearing the crowd go nuts for Farley.”
