Chris Farley as Shrek and Other Lost Performances

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I recently finished reading The Chris Farley Show "“ a biography of the late, great comedy star. The book features a fascinating rundown of Farley's life from growing up in Wisconsin to his days onstage in the Chicago improv scene to SNL and through his brief movie career, all told through painfully honest interviews with his family members, best friends and co-stars. Reading it only made me love and miss the genius that brought us Matt Foley the Motivational Speaker, Bennett Brauer and Tommy Callahan all the more.

One of the most interesting parts of the book for me were the few pages which discussed Farley's work as the original voice of the character Shrek. We all now know Mike Myers as the big, lovable green ogre. But most people don't know that the role was originally Farley's "“ and according to the book, his version was much different than the one we ended up seeing on screen. Plus, it's implied in the book that the character was designed to look like him.

Locked away somewhere in a vault in Hollywood are the audio recordings of Farley as Shrek.

I don't suspect we'll ever hear them, but man would I love to. There are so many cases like this "“ stars recast half-way through a movie, musicians who socked away a partially completed album, novels rumored to exist in the estate of deceased authors.

So, my question for you is this: What hidden pop culture gems would you like to get your hands on?

(For example, footage of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly.)

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