Submitted by Cameron C, who lives in a van…down by the river.

Christopher Crosby “Chris” Farley achieved great fame and popularity in the ’90s for his work on SNL (memorable characters include Matt Foley, a motivational speaker of questionable methods, and one of the “Gap Girls” with David Spade and Adam Sandler [featured in the clip above]). He also starred in a handful of successful films (Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja, most notably). In late 1997, Mr. Farley passed away from from a drug overdose and heart attack after a year of highly-publicized ill health and addiction problems.

Submitted by Tom S

Better known as the “Man of 10,000 Sound Effects,” Michael Winslow was the best part of the Police Academy films (all four hundred of them). His talents had nothing to do with post-production sound editing, but real-life vocal wizardry. Behold!

Submitted by Laurens B

Jim Varney was an epic part of any childhood that spanned the ’80s or ’90s. Anyone that grew up in that era has probably seen Ernest Goes to Camp about a billion times.

Submitted by Sara H

Without Tex Avery we’d have none of our favorite cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Droopy, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and a host of others. We’d also be years behind in the “do anything” department of animation. The crazy antics, cartoon physics, and quantum anomalies that are abound in cartoons may have never been realized if it weren’t for Tex Avery.

Submitted by tabbymom

George Carlin was a king among comedians. He wasn’t afraid to tell the truth, no matter how offensive it was. We miss him dearly every day and we can only hope that someday someone with a glimmer of the genius that George Carlin possessed comes along to entertain us once again.