Farley, a Madison native, was a rising star as a portly, high-energy and charismatic comedian before his high-risk behavior caught up to him 20 years ago Monday, when the 33-year-old was found dead in his Chicago apartment after overdosing on a combination of cocaine and heroin.
Much of the nation mourned the loss of an actor who entertained millions with his starring role in the movie "Tommy Boy," or as a bare-chested dancer auditioning for a Chippendales job, an angst-ridden interviewer of Paul McCartney and the sausage-eating Chicago Bears fan suffering a heart attack on "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1990s.
Foley, a Catholic priest from Arlington Heights, Illinois, who had been friends with Farley since they both attended Marquette University and were teammates on the school's rugby team, said the video was a great way for him to get in touch with the soldiers. "They related to Chris very much," he said.
That feeling went well beyond those troops. It's a rare day when a stranger doesn't reach out to Foley or a member of Farley's family by letter, social media or in person to express how they relate to Farley — either through his comedy acts that still make people laugh today, or the lessons from an addiction that eventually overwhelmed him after not taking a drink or using drugs for three years.
David Spade Honors Chris Farley on 20th Anniversary of His Friend's Death

On Monday, David Spade honored the memory of his late friend Chris Farley, who passed away 20 years ago from a drug overdose.
“20 years ago today,” the 53-year-old Joe Dirt star wrote alongside a photograph of his deceased friend.
Spade and Farley performed together for five seasons on Saturday Night Live before starring in the 1995 movie Tommy Boy. The film was Farley’s first major role after SNL, and he’d re-team with Spade the following year for another comedy, Black Sheep.
In 2015, Spade also shared a touching tribute to Farley on the 20th anniversary of their film Tommy Boy‘s release.
“I was very lucky to be in this movie with one of the all-time funniest mother f—, the late, great Chris Farley,” Spade wrote alongside a poster from the movie on which Farley had written his friend and costar a message.
“It’s hard to read but on the poster it says, ‘David let’s stick together!’ Signed by Chris,” Spade added.
“We gave each other autographed posters as a joke back then,” Spade continued. “Now I see it in my office and skim over it because if I think about that for more than 5 seconds I’ll start bawling. Like now. As Chris would say, what a p—. #RIP”