The manic moment Chris Farley interviewed Paul McCartney: “What a dumb question!”
Chris Farley’s comedic genius cannot be understated.
Rising to fame as a cast member on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, Farley’s physical comedy became his signature, and his slapstick approach quickly became a favourite of audiences worldwide, before his untimely death at just 33 years old in 1997, granting SNL some of its most memorable moments.
A recurring sketch of Farley’s was The Chris Farley Show, during which he portrayed an exaggerated version of himself as a talk show host whose nerves got the better of him while interviewing celebrities, but rather than ask questions about the subject’s current project, Farley would instead act completely starstruck, describing scenes from a film an actor was in or recalling popular culture moments. If he said something he regretted, he would smack himself on the head and, when he’d ask if the guest remembered such an event, he would reply with a customary, “That was awesome.”
The Chris Farley Show only aired three times during Farley’s tenure on SNL, twice in 1991 and once two years later, in 1993. The first guest was actor Jeff Daniels, who contrasted Farley’s enthusiasm with simple “yes” or “no” answers. Martin Scorsese was the second guest, who was subject to Farley’s many questions surrounding action films. His third and final guest was none other than Paul McCartney, who was SNL’s musical guest on February 13th, 1993, promoting his ninth studio album, Off the Ground, and performing three songs: ‘Get Out of My Way’, ‘Biker Like an Icon’, and The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’. But first, he was to be subject to Farley’s amusing questioning.
Farley, immediately nervous, stumbles through introducing McCartney as “one of the greatest musicians, rock musicians… I guess, songwriters, ever”, before slapping himself in frustration. “You’re doing great, Chris,” McCartney assures him, patting him on the knee and keeping an impressive straight face. “D’you remember when you were with The Beatles? That was awesome,” Farley asks, met with a simple, “Yeah, it was,” from McCartney.
Farley then asks whether McCartney remembers being arrested for marijuana possession in Japan, to which the musician replies, “To be honest, I’d kind of like to forget all that.” Farley, as expected, hits himself once again, exclaiming, “So stupid! What a dumb question!” McCartney soothes his anger by sharing, “No, no, no, Chris, I get asked that all the time in interviews. Maria Shriver asked the same question last week.”
Filled with a series of “uh”s in between, Farley asks about moments within Beatlemania, including, “You remember when you were with The Beatles, and you were supposed to be dead, and there were all these clues that you’d play some song backwards and it’d say, ‘Paul Is Dead’, and everyone thought that you were dead?” With a nod from McCartney, Farley confirms, “That was a hoax, right?” McCartney responds, simply, “Yeah, I wasn’t really dead.”
For his final question, Farley quotes the closing lines of ‘The End’ from Abbey Road: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” “Is that true?” Farley questions, to a chorus of laughs and applause. McCartney, ever thoughtful, replies matter-of-factly, “Yes, Chris, in my experience, I find the more you give, the more you get.” An awestruck look takes over Farley’s face as he looks to the audience, points at McCartney and enthusiastically whispers, “Awesome!”, practically jumping out of his seat.
As Farley says his goodbyes and McCartney, once again, reassures him that he did fine, the sketch ends on an awkwardly sweet note.
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