Chris Farley Would've Explored His Dramatic Side With This Unmade Biopic

Publish date: 2024-06-15

The Big Picture

Making a name for himself with improvisational performances via The Second City, Chris Farley hit the big time with a five-year run on Saturday Night Live and successfully made the transition to film acting with several beloved roles. But his life and career were tragically cut short by his untimely death on December 18, 1997. Decades later, however, Farley's legacy remains as beloved as ever, as Hollywood is gearing up to adapt the 2009 book, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, for the big screen with Paul Walter Hauser starring as the legendary performer and actor Josh Gad directing.

While audiences widely remember Farley for his hilarious turns as the manic motivational speaker Matt Foley, an aspiring Chippendales dancer opposite Patrick Swayze, and the lovable titular character in 1995's Tommy Boy, there was another side to the comedy legend that never fully made it to the screen. As is often the case with comedians, Farley had aspirations to explore more dramatic fare before his passing, and among the slate of projects he had lined up was a biopic about famed silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

Who Was Roscoe Arbuckle?

Born in 1887, Roscoe Arbuckle would make a name for himself as a youngster performing in vaudeville, carnivals, and traveling theater companies. Multi-talented and versatile, he sang, told jokes, and even tried his hand at magic tricks. But physical adeptness was his ultimate trademark despite having a robust frame and weighing up to 300 pounds throughout much of his life. Having cut his teeth performing for years, he gained further attention after appearing in several films produced by Keystone Studios, a major player in producing comedy films in the silent era. It was around this time that he also began exerting greater control over his work through writing and directing. And it was while employed by Keystone that he acquired an unfortunate nickname that would stick with him for years — Fatty.

Steadily rising through the motion picture ranks, Arbuckle took over the Comique Film Corporation in 1917, cranking out several short comedy films as director and star. While working at Comique, he arguably made one of his greatest contributions to the film industry when he met a young and unknown performer named Buster Keaton. With a keen eye for talent and a generous spirit, he believed in Keaton as a talent and took a chance in employing the aspiring actor. It wouldn't be long before the two men forged a creative partnership that led to a close friendship. As he took on more responsibility as a filmmaker and actor, Arbuckle's star continued to rise even after he began relying less and less on physical comedy. In 1921, however, one of the film industry's earliest major controversies erupted, and the 34-year-old Arbuckle found himself at the center of it.

A Highly-Publicized Scandal Derailed Roscoe Arbuckle's Career

In September 1921, Roscoe Arbuckle was doing very well for himself. As one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, pulling in $1 million annually courtesy of Paramount Pictures, he traveled to San Francisco to attend a Labor Day gathering. Amid the days of prohibition and relentless partying, he and a group of friends and acquaintances went on a three-day bender in adjoining rooms at the St. Francis Hotel. Among the attendees were 25-year-old aspiring actress Virginia Rappe and her friend, Maude Delmont, the latter of whom would play a significant role in derailing Arbuckle's thriving career. According to Delmont, shortly after Arbuckle and Rappe joined one another in private, Rappe was heard screaming, and upon inspection appeared to be in pain and claimed that Arbuckle assaulted her. After she was taken to a hospital, Rappe died on September 9 from a ruptured bladder.

As scandalous wheels were set in motion, media mogul William Randolph Hearst seized on the incident and published accusatory, lurid headlines about the actor's alleged assault of Virginia Rappe. Though it would later be determined that Maude Delmont had a history of engaging in fraud and extortion, her scathing but unverified testimony against Arbuckle put the nail in the coffin. While the actor had some support from Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, both of whom rushed to his defense and made statements regarding his upstanding character, the damage to his reputation had been done. According to Smithsonian Magazine, several jurors issued the following statement in Arbuckle's third trial: "Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done to him...there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of the crime."

Though the silent film star avoided criminal conviction, his career and public image would never fully recover. The negative publicity led to Hollywood distancing itself from Arbuckle, even leading to a temporary ban on his films preceding the infamous Hays Code censorship regime, which would be implemented years later as a result of such notorious scandals involving movie stars and filmmakers. Under a pseudonym, Arbuckle continued to work through the 1920s as a director and even returned to his vaudeville roots. On June 29, 1933, he died of a heart attack at age 46.

Chris Farley Took Interest in Roscoe Arbuckle's Story

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By 1997, Chris Farley had rapidly risen through the ranks of fame and show business. As one of the breakout stars of his generation's cast on Saturday Night Live, he gave audiences some of the show's most iconic characters, bringing a level of zany energy and slapstick comedy to the show that hadn't been seen in years. But the small screen simply wasn't big enough to contain his capabilities as a performer, and his segue from TV to movies was swift. Despite a lack of enthusiasm from some critics, Farley was a favorite among moviegoers with Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja among others. And like many comedic performers, he wanted to challenge himself by trying his hand at meaningful, dramatic material.

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Before his death at 33, one of the many projects Farley had in the works would've seen him play Roscoe Arbuckle in a biopic. In his book, The Chris Farley Show, Tom Farley (Chris' brother) sheds light on a meeting the actor took with renowned playwright and screenwriter David Mamet to discuss the planned film. "Chris came to the meeting at a little restaurant down in the Village, and he was the good Chris, the well-behaved Chris, because he couldn’t believe that David Mamet even wanted to meet him," Farley writes. "Mamet loved him. It was a great meeting. He said yes before we got up from the table, and he wrote it for Chris. To this day, I know that it would have changed his career." Though the film never fully got off the ground, the idea of Chris Farley stepping into the silent actor's shoes remains a thrilling prospect to speculate over.

Chris Farley Saw Himself in Roscoe Arbuckle

Chris Farley's struggles with self-esteem and substance abuse are well-known. As is the case with many comedians, his desire to win the approval of others was no doubt an influential factor in his work, so it's no wonder that he'd be attracted to Roscoe Arbuckle's life story given the parallels between the two men. Regarding their obvious physical similarities and talent for slapstick humor, Farley and Arbuckle had reservations about putting their physical girth to use for the entertainment of others. In dealing with the white-hot spotlight of fame, they wrestled with the often domineering pressure that comes with celebrity. But regardless of a level of self-awareness that could lead to insecurity, they both had an unwavering desire to entertain.

According to Tom Farley, "As soon as he heard little bits and pieces about Arbuckle’s life, he said, ‘This is me.’ It was the whole idea that nobody understands the real person underneath. ‘I’m going to tell them about the real Fatty Arbuckle, and maybe they’ll understand the real Chris Farley.'" Maybe such a role would have opened new and promising doors for Chris Farley, taking him to greater heights of opportunity and recognition. While we'll never know exactly what his portrayal of Arbuckle would have amounted to, it's safe to assume that he had an innate and profound understanding of the man he was slated to play and that the result may have taken audiences by surprise in revealing a level of performative depth and insight they hadn't yet seen from the comedic actor.

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