John Belushi

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John Belushi
Belushi in 1976
Born
John Adam Belushi

(1949-01-24)January 24, 1949
DiedMarch 5, 1982(1982-03-05) (aged 33)
West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Cause of deathAccidental overdose
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)comedian, musician, actor
Years active1973–1981
Known forSaturday Night Live
Comedy career
InfluencedChris Farley, Artie Lange
SpouseJudy Belushi (1976–1982)
Parent(s)Adam Belushi
Agnes Belushi

John Belushi (January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982) was an American actor in movies and television shows.

Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother was the daughter of Albanian immigrants; his father was an immigrant from Albania. His brother is James Belushi, who is also an actor.[1]

John was co-captain of the football team in high school as well as homecoming king in his senior year. In school he was already active in acting, but he thought he might try to play professional football. His drama-teacher persuaded him to pursue becoming a professional actor.[2]

He appeared mainly in TV shows, and was one of the founders of Saturday Night Live. His Blues Brothers act with Dan Aykroyd was famous, long before The Blues Brothers movie (1980).[1]

Unfortunately Belushi became a drug addict. He used both heroin and cocaine, and a lot of both. In the time before he died, he spent about $2,500 a week on drugs.[1]

John Belushi died in 1982 from a drug overdose injected by a woman named Cathy Smith. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.[1]

Credits[change | change source]

SNL characters and impersonations[change | change source]

Recurring characters
  • Samurai Futaba
  • Captain Ned, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies
  • Jacob Papageorge alias 'Joliet' Jake Blues, from the Blues Brothers
  • Jeff Widette, from the Widettes
  • Kevin (from The Mall sketches)
  • Kuldorth (from The Coneheads)
  • Larry Farber (one half of the Farber couple [the wife, Bobbi, was played by Gilda Radner])
  • Lowell Brock, from the H&L Brock commercials
  • Matt Cooper, from the Land Shark sketches
  • Pete, from the Olympia Cafe
  • Steve Beshekas (who was in real life a good friend of Belushi's since community college)
  • Frank Leary, one of St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus
Celebrity impersonations

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "John Belushi - Death, Animal House & Movies". Biography. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  2. Woodward, Bob (1984). Wired : the short life and fast times of John Belushi. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 34-36. ISBN 0671473204.

Other websites[change | change source]