A Madison native who brought us laughs is being remembered at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Chris Farley hit it big as a comedian but never forgot his Wisconsin roots.

It's been 10 years since Chris Farley passed away from a drug overdose. The exhibit on display through mid-November celebrates his legacy.

"We start with his Wisconsin years," Leslie Bellais says.
Before he became known as motivational speaker Matt Foley on SNL, or Tommy Boy on the silver screen, Chris Farley was a Madison-area kid who played nose guard at Edgewood High School.
"Here's someone who grew up in Madison... imbibed the Madison zeitgeist as his brother, Tom, likes to say and then took it out nationally," Bellais says.
In the mid-80's, Farley was at Marquette University... where he played rugby.
"If you've seen Tommy Boy, you see he wears a Marquette rugby jacket, and this was the inspiration for it," Bellais says.
His college years also inspired the Foley character -- named for a dear friend from Marquette. Saturday Night Live loaned the jacket and tie from the skits to the museum.
"I've always been a huge fan of his, always ... and the first time I saw him do Matt Foley, I hit the ground I was laughing so hard," fan Lori Knipfer says.
Curator Leslie Bellais says the exhibit began with a single jacket -- the one Farley wore in his 1996 film, Black Sheep.
"He gets pulled along by his necktie by the trunk of the car ... He did his own stunts so you can see all of the scraped up buttons and the holes, actually, the sleeve has got a huge hole in it," Bellais says.
But through donations from his family, the collection has grown. It also includes Farley's script from his final movie, Almost Heroes... his t-shirt from SNL... and a sweater from The Second City.
"There were 4th graders in the building yesterday, who were like oh my god, Chris Farley, he's so funny and they were born the year he died, or around the time he died, so they didn't know him in life but his legacy continues," Bellais says.
The opening of the exhibit is timed to coincide with the release of a book, The Chris Farley Show, co-written by Chris's brother, Tom. He will hold a signing at Barnes and Noble Bookstore at West Towne Mall on Wednesday, May 14th at seven o'clock.