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CHICAGO (CNN) -- Chris Farley, the oversized comic who spent four seasons on TV's "Saturday Night Live" and later starred in several movies, was found dead Thursday in an apartment.
The cause of death was unconfirmed, although Chicago fire officials told Reuters that Farley died of an apparent heart attack.
His physical comedy and manic behavior drew comparisons to the late John Belushi. As a teen-ager, Farley idolized Belushi, another "SNL" alum who also died at age 33, in 1982, after years of drug abuses, overeating and other excesses.
Farley patterned much of his comedy after Belushi's.
"Although I love this kind of comedy, sometimes I feel trapped by always having to be the most outrageous guy in the room," Farley said in 1996. "In particular, I'm working on trying not to be that guy in my private life."
"SNL" creator Lorne Michaels "told me that that's what killed Belushi more than anything else," Farley said.
Other Second City or "SNL" alumni who died young include actress Gilda Radner and Canadian actor John Candy.
