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John Belushi Biography

John Belushi was a comic powerhouse who rose to stardom in the 1970s with a hyper-aggressive comedic style. Leaving behind a potential career in football and the family's restaurant business, he emerged onto the comedy circuit with Chicago's legendary improvisational group "Second City" in 1971. A few years later he joined the original cast of the groundbreaking sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" where he developed the unforgettable characters, Samurai Futaba, a grunting sword-wielding Japanese man, a Greek diner owner who only served "cheezborgers", and delivered uncanny impersonations of soul singer Joe Cocker and Marlon Brando. His role as the hard-partying frat boy Bluto Blutarsky in "Animal House" was a box-office hit and became his most memorable role.

Even though Belushi tackled more subdued and dramatic roles in the films "Old Boyfriends" and "Continental Divide", his departure from physical comedy was not as well-received by audiences. He created the band "The Blues Brothers" with close friend and fellow comedian Dan Aykroyd and together they fronted the band of notable blues artists giving deadpan performances as the characters Jake and Elwood, and earning a number one record in 1978 and a number one film in 1980. Off-screen, Belushi had gained a reputation as a party animal who frequently indulged in drugs. His untimely death from an accidental overdose of cocaine and heroine at the age of 33 in 1982 shocked and saddened the industry and his fans. John Belushi is remembered as an immensely talented comedian whose rising star burned out too quickly.

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