‘Late Show’ Host Stephen Colbert Reveals Heartbreaking Memory of ‘SNL’ Great Chris Farley

Stephen Colbert paid tribute to the late Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley on the 21-year anniversary of his death.

On Tuesday, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert host took to Twitter to remember Farley, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 33, penning a special tribute to his former co-star and revealing their special connection.

“Chris Farley and I started at Second City on the same day. You knew the minute you saw him on stage he was great. He was sweet and smart and funny,” Colbert wrote. “When I heard he had died, 21 years ago today, I fell to the ground. Rest In Peace.”

As revealed by Colbert, he and Farley’s paths crossed at the very start of their comedy careers, when they began going to Second City in Chicago. While Colbert would go on to score a number of gigs, including as host of his own late night talk show, Farley went on to land a spot on Saturday Night Live in 1990, where he remained until he left in 1995.

Colbert was far from the only one to remember Farley on Tuesday, as many of his Saturday Night Live co-stars also paid tribute on social media, including Adam Sandler. Sandler shared shared a clip from his Netflix special Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh, in which he paid tribute to “my friend Chris Farley” with a song.

In the song, Sandler recalls his and Farley’s first meeting, recalling “the first time I saw him he was sweeter than s—. Plaid jacket and belt too tight, he wasn’t even doing a bit.”

“On Saturday Night, my man would always deliver, whether he was a Bumblebee Girl or livin’ in a van down by the river,” Sandler continues, alluding to some of Farley’s famous sketches.

Sandler went on to recall how “we told him, ‘Slow down, you’ll end up like [John] Belushi and [John] Candy,’” referencing Belushi, the Saturday Night Live star whose Farley’s death was often compared to. “Those guys are my heroes. That’s all fine and dandy.”

Farley passed away on Dec. 18, 1997 in Chicago at the age of 33 of an accidental drug overdose of cocaine and morphine. One of the biggest voices in comedy to come out of the ’90s, he left behind a body of work that includes some of the funniest Saturday Night Live sketches ever made, as well as the films Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Tommy Boy.