Chris Farley's most famous character started before his SNL run thanks to the writing talents of a big name in the world of television drama. Here's the history of SNL's man in a van down by the river.
It's been over twenty-five years now since the self-deprecating master Chris Farley left our world on December 18, 1997. Though he is gone, he lives on thanks to his numerous roles. In film, we still laugh over his physical antics in Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and his comedy masterpiece, Tommy Boy. Farley was on such a role that he had even been cast as Shrek. It is only due to his passing that Mike Myers got the job.
Why "Matt Foley: Van Down By the River" Is Such a Popular Sketch "Matt Foley: Van Down by the River" begins in a traditional American living room of the early '90s, with SNL's perfect everyman, Phil Hartman, sitting on a couch to the left with cast mate Julia Sweeney. On the couch to the right sits another cast mate and Farley's best friend, David Spade, as well as that week's Saturday Night Live guest host, Christina Applegate.
This sketch personifies the brilliance of Chris Farley. Yes, he was the pratfall king. He could fall through anything and get a laugh. But it wasn't that easy. He wound the audience up before that, contorting his body, his face, and his voice into whatever was going to get the best reaction. And he could act. Farley became Matt Foley, an intense man who, though he might be a motivational speaker, is in way more need of help than anyone he talks to.
In a 2021 interview with Howard Stern, Odenkirk spoke about writing the motivational speaker character. "I wrote that alone in my apartment in Chicago when we were doing Second City together... And, of course, Chris elevates it to a whole nother place." Odenkirk went on to explain where the character came from. Part of it came from seeing Farley play a coach character in Second City who warned kids against doing drugs.
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