 Deceased Saturday Night Live funnyman Chris Farley has been resurrected for a series of billboard advertisements. He died eight years ago from a drug overdose. The ads plug a new treatment for drug and alcohol abuse from Hythiam, Inc. Farley's body was discovered on December 18, 1997, in his apartment in Chicago. After an autopsy, a coroner determined that Farley died from an overdose of morphine and cocaine. He was 33 at the time of his death. The first of the billboards went up in Los Angeles and features an image with the legend that his death wasn't all his fault. The billboard was put up on the Sunset Strip next to Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, the famed hotel in which John Belushi, another Saturday Night Live alum was found dead from an overdose of cocaine and heroin when he was 33 years of age. Belushi died in 1982. According to the Los Angeles Times, the ads actually mark the first time that Farley's estate has approved the use of his image for commercial purposes since he died. Five more billboards featuring Farley will be put up in other locations around LA during coming weeks. Hythiam is also negotiating with the estates of some other deceased celebritities to use in ad campaigns geared towards older adicts. The company has declined to release the names of the deceased stars they are seeking to use in future ads. |
