Profile of John Belushi on Famous Like Me

John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. John was born in the U.S. to Adam Belushi, an Albanian immigrant who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of 15, and his wife Agnes. He grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, where he was a high school football player, outside of Chicago and attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the College of DuPage near Chicago. Belushi's brother James Belushi is also a successful actor and comedian.

Belushi's first big break as a comedian occurred in 1971, when he joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago, Illinois. Thanks to his uncanny caricature of singer Joe Cocker's intense and jerky stage presence, he participated in National Lampoon's "Lemmings" stage show in 1972 (which also featured future Saturday Night Live performer Chevy Chase).

From 1973 to 1975 the National Lampoon aired the Radio Hour, a half-hour comedy program syndicated across the country on approximately 600 stations. When original director Michael O'Donoghue quit in 1974, Belushi took over the reins until the show was cancelled. Other players on the show included future SNL regulars Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Richard Belzer and Chevy Chase. Belushi married Judy Jacklin, an associate producer of the Radio Hour. A number of comic bits first performed on the Radio Hour would be translated into SNL sketches in the show's early seasons.

Belushi achieved national fame with his work on Saturday Night Live, which he joined as one of the original cast members in 1975. Between seasons of the show, he made one of his best-known movies, Animal House. He left Saturday Night Live in 1979 to pursue a film career, and he appeared in a number of movies, including The Blues Brothers (with Dan Aykroyd). Both the Animal House and the Blues Brothers albums went to number 1, making Belushi the only performing artist to concurrently attain momentary greatness in the two disciplines.

He was also known to indulge in bouts of drinking and involvement with drugs which eventually cost him his life. John was found dead on March 5, 1982, at the age of 33, in a hotel room at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, a lethal injection of cocaine and heroin. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, among others, and while there was some dispute in the findings it was eventually officially ruled a drug-related accident. There was some suspicion of foul play by his companion and drug dealer at the time, Cathy Smith, who was a former backup singer for The Band.

John's life is detailed in the biography "Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi" (Published in 1985) by Bob Woodward.

John Belushi is interred in Abel's Hill Cemetery, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

His widow later remarried and is now Judy Belushi Pisano.

Filmography

• Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle (1975) (voice)
• Animal House (1978)
• The Rutles (1978)
• Goin' South (1978)
• Old Boyfriends (1979)
• 1941 (1979)
• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• Continental Divide (1981)
• Neighbors (1981)

Trivia

• In the toga party scene in the basement of the frat in Animal House, the uncredited coed dancing with Bluto (Belushi) is his wife.

• Belushi wanted Bluto to go on the road trip with Boon, Otter, Pinto and Flounder but director John Landis told him that his character was best used sparingly.

• According to the "Where Are They Now? - A Delta Alumni Update" mockumentary included on the Double Secret Probation Edition of Animal House, Sen. John Blutarsky and his lovely wife, the former Mandy Pepperidge, have ascended to the White House.

• According to writer/actor Tim Kazurinsky in the book Live From New York, Belushi was instrumental in getting fellow Second City alumni Kazurinsky onto Saturday Night Live. But during his run on the show, Kazurinsky became very stressed out by the show's demands. He later called Belushi and said that he needed a ride to airport because he was quitting the show and moving back to Chicago. Belushi and his wife picked up Kazurinsky but refused to drive him to the airport, which Belushi told Kazurinsky that the show's atmosphere can get bad at times, but that he still had access to major broadcasting airwaves. Instead, Belushi took the performer to a psychiatrist whom he saw for a year, while staying with the show during his run.

• He was portrayed by actors Eric Siegel in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something,Tyler Labine in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy which also features his friendship with Robin Williams and Michael Chiklis in Wired. The last two films may not have portrayed the comic actor in the best light as they particularly highlight his drug use.

Famous Saturday Night Live characters

• Beethoven
• Samurai
• 'Joliet' Jake Blues
• Joe Cocker
• Dino de Laurentiis
• Greek Restaurant Owner
• The Godfather
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Captain Kirk

Sources - Hill, Doug and Weingrad, Jeff, "Saturday Night - A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live", Beech Tree Books / William Morrow, New York, 1986, ISBN 0-688-05099-9.

The Best of the National Lampoon Radio Hour, liner notes by McConnachie, Brian and Simmons, Matty, Rhino Records, California, 1996.

Shales, Tom and Miller, James Andrew, "Live From New York - An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live", Little, Brown and Company, Boston, New York, London, 2002, ISBN 0-316-78146-0.

National Lampoon's Animal House - Double Secret Probation Edition DVD release, Universal Studios, California, 2003.

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