Chris Farley often cited John Belushi as a major hero, so it is perhaps unsurprising that he followed a similar path. His life story shares many familiarities with Belushi's, from battling with the problem of obesity (which he seemed to inherit from his father, who at one point weighed over 600 pounds) to struggling with an ever-increasing addiction to drugs and alcohol. Like Belushi, Farley's image was of an out-of-control funny man who lived life to excess, and like Belushi the lifestyle caught up with him when he was just 33. Farley was another Saturday Night Live alumni who ended up quitting the show to break into Hollywood. Following on from the success of Tommy Boy in 1995 his career was on the up, peaking with Black Sheep (1996) and Beverley Hills Ninja (1997) by which time he was earning $6 million a film. Yet despite all his successes the epic drug and alcohol binges continued one night, after partying relentlessly on a mixture of alcohol, heroin and cocaine, Farley passed out and never woke up again. In the aftermath of his death his family created the Chris Farley Foundation, educating children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
