LET’S GET PHYSICAL

FIVE OF FARLEY’S MOST ACROBATIC FEATS

TENNIS BALL BARRAGE WAYNE’S WORLD 2 (1993)

Always a master of the pratfall, when Farley goes down hard during Del Preston’s gruelling roadie training he even manages to turn getting pelted by tennis balls into an artform. “Why don’t you just quit?” demands Wayne, setting up Farley’s classic An Officer And A Gentleman-spoofing plaintive punchline: “’Cause I got no place else to go!”

OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1994)

Nancy Kerrigan was fresh from winning silver at the Winter Olympics when she teamed up with Farley to play figure-skating duo Anna and Wolfgang Wormeldanger. At first Farley appears unsteady on his skates, but he’s hustling us. Soon he’s flowing gracefully across the ice: forwards, backwards and even up on one leg. Give that man a medal.

LUNCH LADY LAND SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1994)

Adam Sandler’s rock ’n’ roll tribute to the army of women who serve school lunches wouldn’t have been anything like as memorable without Farley — decked out in a white apron, a hairnet and yellow rubber gloves – pulling off an impressive interpretative dance routine. Sandler just can’t keep a straight face whenever Farley pirouettes into view — but then, who could?

FAT GUY IN A LITTLE COAT TOMMY BOY (1995)

When they shared an office during their stints at Saturday Night Live, Farley would wind up David Spade by putting on Spade’s tiny denim jacket and singing the words: “Fat guy in a little coat.” They worked this running joke into a Tommy Boy scene that makes full use of Farley’s physicality and captures him at his best: sweet, goofy and utterly hilarious.

SIDE-SPLITTING SIDE SPLITS LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (1996)

Farley had barely caught his breath after lugging an audience member outside into a dumpster when he announced he’d been “stretching lately, Dave” and dropped into side splits. That alone would be impressive enough but Farley, the consummate physical comedian, is just arriving at his punchline. “Dave,” he murmurs, “I can’t get up.”