Chris Farley Used on Billboards

(andPOP) - Eight years after his death, Chris Farley is appearing in advertisements for a new treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

Farley died at age 33 when his body was found in his apartment in Chicago on December 18, 1997.

He died of an overdose ? a "cocktail" of morphine and cocaine was found in his body.

A billboard was scheduled to go up Monday in Los Angeles (on Sunset Strip) that would show a picture of Farley and the slogan, "it wasn't all his fault."

This will be the first time that Farley's family has given permission to a company to use Farley's image for a commercial means since he died.

An L.A. medical firm called Hythiam paid the family $25,000 according to the Los Angeles Times.

The message of the ad is that alcohol and drug abuse is a medical problem. The company is advertising a product called Prometa. Farley is shown smiling.

Five additional billboards with Farley's image will go up around Los Angeles, and the company is speaking with the families of other deceased stars who succumbed due to overdoses.

Farley got his start on Saturday Night Live before branching out into a successful movie career. His final movie roles included a small but memorable role in Dirty Work and a starring role opposite Matthew Perry in the bomb, Almost Heroes.

He also starred in Beverly Hills Ninja, Black Sheep and Tommy Boy; and appeared in such films as Airheads, Billy Madison, Coneheads, Wayne's World and Almost Heroes.