Lorne Michaels reportedly used to ‘ban’ Chris Farley from shoots during his addiction days

During a recent appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, biographer Susan Morrison looked back at how the head of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels, used to deal with drug addiction among SNL cast members after John Belushi's death in 1982.

Susan Morrison published a biography on Lorne titled Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live in February 2025. In the book, she details his life as the "man behind America's most beloved comedy show."

American comedian and actor John Belushi died on March 5, 1982, from an overdose of cocaine and heroin. Morrison, while recalling the effect Belushi's death had on Michaels, wrote,

"When Belushi died, it really hit him hard. And I think he felt like this whole approach of just letting people do their own thing on their own time, was the wrong approach. We're a tribe, we're a group, and we have to look out for each other."

Morrison then mentioned that Farley became extra protective of SNL cast members, including Chris Farley, who struggled with heroin during his five-season run with SNL from 1990 to 1995.

"And so by the time Chris Farley comes along ten years later or whatever, from the beginning, he clearly had addiction issues. Lorne would call him into his office and give him these talks about the drinking or the drugs."

She revealed that Lorne had taken a sterner approach with Farley, including banning him for weeks,

"He couldn't 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, it didn't do it for him."

Farley died from a cocaine and morphine overdose in 1997 in Chicago.

How did Lorne Michaels tackle SNL cast members' drug problems?

Creator and producer of sketch comedy series, Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels played a big role in tackling the show's infamous drug culture during the 1970s.

A September, 2024 episode titled; From Saturday Night Live to Sunday with 60 Minutes, addressed Lorne Michaels management skills. Lorne was asked whether he'd ignored drug use on the show with a "live and let live" attitude. Michaels responded and disagreed saying that his leadership on the show was "incredibly paternal."

The initial group on the show included Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and others. Michaels said,

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"Everybody that I had chose had gone through some screw up in adolescence, in that original group. Either death of a parent, divorce, something, some upheaval...and got stuck in adolescence."

Lorne Michaels had also helped Keith Richards from serving prison time after he was busted in Toronto with 22 grams of heroin in 1977. Michaels agreed to testify in court on Richards' behalf and described him as a serious, contributing artist and not a criminal.

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