Saturday Night Live, now in its 50th season as part of the 2025 TV schedule, has showcased many stars. But none quite like the late Chris Farley. A whirlwind of energy and comedic talent, Farley’s iconic sketches helped shape SNL in the ’90s and continue to be celebrated. But his struggles with addiction are a sobering reminder of another SNL legend, John Belushi. Lorne Michaels, the show’s creator, aimed to ensure that history wouldn’t repeat itself.
In a recent conversation on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Susan Morrison, author of Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, spoke candidly about how deeply Belushi’s 1982 overdose affected Michaels and, in turn, how that shaped his handling of Farley. According to the author:
When Belushi died, it really hit him hard…And I think he felt like this whole approach of just letting people do their own thing on their own time, this was the wrong approach. We’re a tribe, we’re a group, and we have to look out for each other.
Chris Farley died of an overdose at 33. Cocaine and heroin, the same fatal mix that took Belushi. It was the tragedy Michaels had tried to avoid repeating. But even with all the interventions and hard decisions, addiction proved too powerful.
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