Adam Sandler Shares Classic Chris Farley, Michael Keaton ‘SNL’ Stories
A 23-year-old Adam Sandler was hired for Saturday Night Live in 1990, joining an already-iconic group of performers like Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Chris Rock and Chris Farley. That season’s writing staff is now equally revered, including legends like Robert Smigel, Bob Odenkirk and Conan O’Brien. During Thursday night’s episode of Conan, Sandler and O’Brien reminisced about their mutual SNL era, when the writers would take out that week’s host to dinner. Sandler shared two hilarious stories: one involving the quick comedic timing of Batman star Michael Keaton, the other Farley’s infamously massive appetite.
“We took Michael Keaton out, and we were all so excited to hang with Michael Keaton,” Sandler says in the above clip. “Like 25 of us showed up, and we had this giant meal. And the check comes, and Keaton grabs the check. Everyone’s like, ‘No, no – Saturday Night Live, we’ll pay for it.’ And he says, ‘No, no, no – let me get this.’ And we went, ‘No, come on, man.’ And he goes, ‘…I’m Batman.'”
Sandler then transitions to Farley, sharing memories of the comedian’s passionate restaurant orders. “He would name like six things, and you’d think, ‘Oh my God, he’s getting six things?'” Sandler says. “And he would say, ‘OK, I’ll take two of those.’ They’d bring out two steaks for him, two salads, two sides of every side he ordered. . . And it was the quietest Farley. You didn’t even want to make a joke about it – just let him do his thing.”
“Chris Farley loved to eat,” Conan says in agreement, “to a degree that I’ve never seen since by any human being.”