Yahoo Finance Chris Farley Once Started 'Huge' Food Fight at O'Hare Airport, Cousin Reveals
The late comic's cousin Jim Farley, host of the Ford podcast 'Drive,' shared how Chris was a born prankster who once caused mayhem with some Cinnabons
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Jim Farley and Chris FarleyThursday marks what would have been Chris Farley's 60th birthday, and his cousin, Ford executive Jim Farley, is remembering what a real life goofball he truly was.
"Chris worked really hard at getting kicked out of any organized event for our family," Farley told Kelly Clarkson — who was a guest on his podcast Drive with Jim Farley, where he talks to Ford car fans like Clarkson, Matthew McConaughey and Sydney Sweeney — last month.
His says his cousin, who tragically died of a drug overdose on Dec. 18, 1997 at age 33, two years after his memorable run on Saturday Night Live, was always total prankster who would do anything for a gag, even before he was famous.
"One time we had a family reunion, and I think he had gotten kicked out of college for his fourth time. And he had just lost his job as a swimming guard in Madison, Wisconsin, which is like a two-month job, max. It's seasonal. He lost that job because he partied all night and slept through it," Jim said. "So we went to a bar, and he stole every picture in the bar and brought them home to our house. The police came the next day because the bar wanted their pictures back."
Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Chris Farley in 1990Related: The Biggest Takeaways from the Chris Farley Documentary
"That was Chris. He was always the same guy," he added.
However, he says that wasn't even his cousin's most memorable wild moment.
"He started a Cinnabon fight in the Chicago O'Hare Airport," Farley recalled. "We were trying to get back to Chicago for my grandmother's funeral. He bought all of the Cinnabons out of the restaurant in O'Hare Airport and then gave them to people and we started a huge food fight."
The move didn't go over well with authorities, Jim revealed.
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"We got kicked out of O'Hare by the police and we missed our connecting flight and we missed our grandmother's funeral," said Jim. "We had a great time, but nobody in Madison understood why we had missed her funeral. So we just owned it. We were like, yeah 'Well we started a food fight at O'Hare and we got into trouble!' "
"I have a thousand different stories like that for Chris," he added.
So does everyone else who knew and loved him.
In the documentary I Am Chis Farley, Chris' brother Kevin recalled an incident that got him kicked out of school as a teen after he pulled out his penis during class on a dare and continued to type as though nothing was amiss. The class howled with laughter — the teacher, not so much.
"It was funny," recalled Kevin, noting that even their dad couldn't help but laugh about it. The stunt got him kicked out of school for a semester.
In the documentary, Chris's friend, comedian and actor Bob Odenkirk, also shared that Chris harbored a lot of insecurity, which was often related to his weight and being typecast as "the fat guy."
Odenkirk, 61, said that he told Chris to go out and be the funniest fat guy he could be — which Farley naturally did.
Related: Chris Rock Compares Chris Farley to Michael Jordan in Preview for Late 'SNL' Star's Tribute Special
In 1997, Farley was found dead in his Chicago apartment of a drug overdose, and his loss still stings those that knew and loved him.
During an appearance on David Spade and Dana Carvey's Fly on the Wall podcast back in December 2022, Chris Rock said the star was beyond funny — he was pure talent.
"It's sad when our friend's not here, but it is curious to [think] 'Wow, what would that guy have done?'" Rock, 59, said. "When I see Sandler in something like Uncut Gems, it's like, 'Yeah, Farley could have done that. He's literally that level of actor, and that level of like, you just felt for that guy. Whatever ride Chris Farley was going to take me on, I was definitely ready to go on it."
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