Tom Farley keeps many fond memories of his brother, the late comedian Chris Farley, but the one he holds closest is Chris’s ability to make others laugh.

“It’s all about the laughter,” Farley said in the opening minutes of his address to students and staff Monday night at the Union Theater. “Chris kept at it until they laughed.”

Farley helped start the Chris Farley Foundation to use humor to make people aware of the serious consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.

Farley played a video showing Chris in a variety of sketches from his various movies, Saturday Night Live skits and other television appearances.

Farley then described Chris to the many Madison students in attendance.

“If you’ve been here long enough, you’ll eventually hear stories about Chris on State Street or in the Kollege Klub,” Farley recalled.

Farley said the drinking culture in Wisconsin makes it easy to imbibe.

“It’s tough growing up in this state,” Farley said. “Going back to some of the places where I [used to hang out] … you see these huge signs offering specials,” Farley said. “If you’re in the bar, you don’t need to be reminded to drink. The guy who serves is right over there!”

The Chris Farley Foundation sends speakers to high schools and colleges around the country.

Farley said Chris’s substance abuse was “unchecked and uninformed,” a path that caught up to him quickly. One of the problems most students face, Farley said, is that young adults find themselves losing support structures that they had when they were younger — like parents, coaches, teachers and priests. He said in Chris’s and Tom’s childhood, young adults were not informed of the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse and parents did not talk about drug abuse. Today, however, this has changed, and drug use is a matter of individual choice, according to Farley.

“Your choice is the most valuable thing you have,” Farley said.

Sophomore Katie Zonino shared her thoughts after she saw the eldest Farley brother.

“It’s interesting how positively they can portray Chris’s life,” Zonino said. “It’s cool how they tie in how Chris affects their lives, especially through humor.”

As the night wound down, Tom took questions from the audience and assured his mother, who was also in attendance, that he would drive her home. He then gave the crowd one last morsel of food for thought.

“Use humor; it’s a powerful tool.”