King Lorne.
Susan Morrison, writer of the biography “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” lately appeared on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast and defined how Lorne Michaels dealt with Chris Farley’s struggles with medication and alcohol on the “SNL” set.
Morrison recalled that Michaels, 80, went into overdrive to assist Farley after authentic solid member John Belushi died of a drug overdose in 1982.
“When Belushi died, it really hit him hard,” Morrison shared. “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.”
“By the time Chris Farley comes along, ten years later or whatever, from the beginning he clearly had addiction issues,” Morrison continued. “Lorne would call him into his office and give him these talks about the drinking or the drugs.”
Morrison recalled that Bob Odenkirk, who was a author on the sketch comedy sequence on the time, as soon as informed her that Farley “would often be excited” about his conferences in Michaels’ workplace.
“It was like the kind of thrill of being in the principal’s office, but at the same time, you’re getting in trouble,” the writer stated. “He couldn’t metabolize it, but Lorne had really changed his approach. He would ban Farley from the show for weeks at a time if he was too f—ed up. And he sent him to a series of really tough love rehab places.”
“And obviously,” Morrison added, “it didn’t do it for him.”
Farley starred on “SNL” from 1990 to 1995. He died of a drug overdose (cocaine and morphine) in 1997, similar to Belushi.
In her ebook that got here out in Feb., Morrison claimed that Farley was as soon as “suspended” from “SNL” due to his habit.
“After getting clean once and relapsing, he’d been suspended by Michaels, who sent him to a tough-love rehab facility in Alabama,” Morrison wrote. “Michaels knew that the show was what Farley liked best, so taking it away from him, he hoped, would make an impression.”
Morrison additionally recalled when Farley returned to the NBC present in October 1997, simply two months earlier than his demise.
“Farley’s manager, Marc Gurvitz, had asked for the hosting gig as a favor: he thought that, for Farley, being back at 8H might have a stabilizing effect,” Morrison stated in her ebook. “Michaels agreed. The discipline and rigor of ‘SNL,’ he always believed, helped keep people straight.”
On “Armchair Expert,” Morrison stated that Michaels has grow to be “pretty hands-on” in serving to former solid members Pete Davidson and John Mulaney who’ve each struggled with habit.
“They all talk about how Lorne is a really helpful person to talk to about it,” she defined. “So I think that he definitely realized, ‘Okay, I can play a role here.’”
