King Lorne.
Susan Morrison, who authored the biography “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” recently joined Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast to discuss how Lorne Michaels tackled Chris Farley’s issues with substance abuse during his time on “SNL.”
Morrison recalled that Michaels, 80, went into overdrive to help Farley after original cast member John Belushi died of a drug overdose in 1982.
Morrison explained, “Belushi’s death was a significant blow to him. I think he realized that allowing everyone to manage themselves in their personal time wasn’t the best approach. We’re a team, a community, and we need to take care of each other.”
“When Chris Farley came on the scene, about ten years later or so, his addiction problems were apparent from the start,” Morrison added. “Lorne would bring him into his office for discussions about his drinking and drug use.”
Morrison recalled that Bob Odenkirk, who was a writer on the sketch comedy series at the time, once told her that Farley “would often be excited” about his meetings in Michaels’ office.
âIt was like the kind of thrill of being in the principalâs office, but at the same time, youâre getting in trouble,â the author said. âHe couldnât 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 didnât do it for him.â
Farley starred on “SNL” from 1990 to 1995. He died of a drug overdose (cocaine and morphine) in 1997, just like Belushi.
In her book that came out in Feb., Morrison claimed that Farley was once “suspended” from “SNL” because of his addiction.
“After getting clean once and relapsing, heâd been suspended by Michaels, who sent him to a tough-Âlove rehab facility in Alabama,â Morrison wrote. âMichaels knew that the show was what Farley liked best, so taking it away from him, he hoped, would make an impression.â
Morrison also recalled when Farley returned to the NBC show in October 1997, just two months before his death.
âFarleyâs 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,â Morrison said in her book. “Michaels agreed. The discipline and rigor of ‘SNL,’ he always believed, helped keep people straight.â
On “Armchair Expert,” Morrison said that Michaels has become “pretty hands-on” in helping former cast members Pete Davidson and John Mulaney who have both struggled with addiction.
“They all talk about how Lorne is a really helpful person to talk to about it,” she explained. “So I think that he definitely realized, ‘Okay, I can play a role here.’”
