Chippendales: Patrick Swayze And Chris Farley’s Legacy Of Laughs

Established in 1979, Chippendales quickly became a memorable dance troupe. This all-male stripping troop became iconic because of their routines and outfits. Their fame grew so much that, naturally, Saturday Night Live had to make a skit based off of them. Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley led this sketch and together they established a legacy of laughs that endures to this day.

The two late greats Swayze and Farley provided the perfect formula for an amazing sketch. YouTube comments shower their performance with praise and highlight their best acting choices. From appearance to tone to expression, everything made this sketch a success.

Chippendales stood out for many reasons

By themselves, Chippendales dancers and their routines became very famous. They presented something relatively unique for the times: a fun, flirty dance routine targeted for the female gaze. Their outfits also gained fame as being flashy, classy, amusing uniforms of sorts – a male version of the Playboy bunny outfit.

RELATED: Adam Sandler Honors Chris Farley With A Touching Song On ‘SNL’

Recruiters wanted people with lean bodies and good dance skills. To get up and do those routines, a dancer had to have a level of self-confidence that let him put himself out there like that. That confidence alone could make a judge’s decision hard, at least, according to SNL, because even the comedy show couldn’t resist referencing this troupe.

Swayze and Farley gave it their all for the Chippendales skit

And that’s where Swayze and Farley came in. On October 27, 1990, SNL aired an episode featuring the Chippendales Audition scene. Both characters, Adrian and Barney, want to be recruited as a Chippendales dancer. All three judges would love to bring on both, citing all their hard work and talent. It’s a hard choice for the trio but it’s one they must make.

Side by side, the dancing duo contrast each other in endearing ways. There’s the noticeable height difference coupled with Adrian’s coolly styled hair makes them look as different as fire and ice. The judges ultimately noticed this too. But throughout the whole audition, Swayze casts genuinely concerned looks at Farley, making Adrian appear genuinely worried. Both actors, though, knew when to shift gears at the perfect time. So, when things became more earnest and Barney was rejected purely because of his body, the laughter dies down and everyone – characters and audience members – can simply feel. It took a lot of bravery for both men to perform how they did and they helped viewers feel just about every emotion in this memorable sketch.