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By Root 1495 0

Martin, the cast ridiculed both itself and the idea that the show was growing soft. Martin sang that instead of just “going through the motions” or “phoning it in,” tonight was the night “I’m actually gonna try” and “do the best I can” — for a change. As he led the singing cast through the studio (the number was a parody of the title song from the old movie musical Babes in Arms), Martin came upon Michaels, who — spoofing his own image — was having his portrait painted and getting a manicure, barely involved in the program, looking aloof and effete. Saturday Night Live defused criticisms of itself by turning them into comedy. But as the decade wore on, jokes wouldn’t be enough to placate all the critics, especially those high up in the ranks of network management.

To one of its noblest traditions, the show remained conspicuously true: discovering and showcasing comic talent that might otherwise never have come to the nation’s attention. Some of those who joined the cast in the nineties and had first watched the show in high school looked to Eddie Murphy as their ultimate SNL role model, rather than to members of the original cast, that comedy Mount Rushmore of Chase, Belushi, Radner, Aykroyd. Chris Farley was the exception. Belushi was his hero, his obsession, and he tried to pattern his personal and professional life after the wild Albanian’s — the best and, alas, worst of it. Like Belushi, Farley demonstrated amazing physical agility for someone of considerable heft and girth. It isn’t easy to be elfin when you weigh three hundred pounds, but Farley brought it off. Sadly, things he turned out to have in common with his idol included not only prodigious talent but an array of beckoning demons. And as with Belushi, the demons proved deadly.

ADAM SANDLER, Cast Member:

Farley was a whole other level. It was not even a question of who we all loved and thought was the funniest. When he walked into the room, that was it.

LORNE MICHAELS, Executive Producer:

As a kid, Chris had taped his eyebrow up to try and look like Belushi. We often said Chris was the child John and Danny never had but would have had if they’d had a child. Chevy came to see Chris once, and Chris was doing his falls, and Chevy said, “Don’t you use anything to break your fall?” Chris said, “What do you mean? Did you?” Chris had welts all over his chest. He just assumed that that was the price you paid for doing it.

FRED WOLF, Writer:

I was in such awe of Chevy, and I know Farley was too. Chevy was very nice to Farley, and Farley would sort of sit at his feet and listen to him talk — because Farley was physical, Chevy was physical, and Chevy was telling Farley that he was worried about him throwing out his back or getting into the same problems that Chevy got into because of his physicality. Chevy would talk to Farley and be very nice to him. And Farley just loved it.

DAVID SPADE, Cast Member:

Chris was my best friend in the cast. I was close to Adam Sandler and Chris Rock too, but Chris and I always had a real good time together. Tommy Boy was Lorne’s idea to make something based on how we are in real life, how we fight, how we laugh, and how we act. So we tried to make a movie to reflect a little of that; it was great.

We used to make fun of Chris at table reads. We were like, “Are you ripping off Belushi in this one, or just Aykroyd?” Because he liked those guys so much that he would incorporate them. He wore Belushi’s pants from wardrobe if he could find any, and sometimes he wore two pairs of pants, which I don’t even know how to explain. I used to get stuff that had old cast members’ names in them, but when his said “Belushi,” he loved that. He would keep those; he’d wear them.

Chris looked up to Belushi as the king. My argument was that I actually thought he was funnier than Belushi. And he wouldn’t accept that. Then, when I would get pissed at him, I would say, “Was Belushi trying to be like anybody? No. He just did whatever the funniest thing that he could think of was. You’re hysterical on your own, you don’t need any of that, don’t try