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Lorne Michaels Banned Chris Farley From ‘SNL’ for ‘Weeks at a Time’ to Help Him Get Off ‘the Drinking and the Drugs’: He ‘Clearly Had Addiction Issues’

Lorne Michaels would ban Chris Farley from 'SNL' for 'weeks at a time' to help him get off drugs.

Chris Farley is widely considered one of the most iconic “ Saturday Night Live ” cast members of all time, but “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels wouldn’t always allow him on the set of the prolific late-night sketch show. During a recent appearance on Dax Shepard’s “ Armchair Expert ” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Susan Morrison, the author of “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” said that Michaels cracked down on the cast’s alcohol and drug use after John Belushi died from an overdose in 1982. Morrison added that after talking to Bob Odenkirk, who wrote on “SNL” from 1987 to 1991, she learned that Farley was often excited to get called into Michaels’ office, although the conversations were never easy.

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