James Belushi biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Entertainer James Belushi, nicknamed Jim, was born on June 15, 1954 in Chicago, but was raised about 25 miles west, in the outlying suburb of Wheaton, Illinois. His father, Adam, is an Albanian immigrant, and his mother, Agnes, is the daughter of Albanian immigrants. Jim was the third of four children. His older brother, John Belushi, who also grew up to be a renowned comedic entertainer, died of a tragic drug overdose in 1982.

Jim's parents were often too busy to keep him out of trouble. As a rebellious teen, he had his share of run-ins with local law officers. His mischievous acts ranged from stealing gas to driving while underage.

At Wheaton Central High School, one of Jim's teachers redirected the teen's energy by encouraging him to audition for the school play. Jim enjoyed the experience of entertaining so much that he decided to sign up for the school's drama club and choir. In recent years, however, the comedian jokingly offered another explanation of why he joined: "Because of girls. In the drama club, there were about 20 girls and six guys. And the same thing with choir … more girls!"

After high school, Jim enrolled in speech and theater classes at the College of DuPage. He later transferred to Southern Illinois University, where he earned a degree in speech and theater arts.

Acting Career

In 1977, after graduating from college, Belushi joined the Second City comedy troupe. The troupe, which had also trained Jim's brother, John Belushi, proved to be a major launching pad for Jim's show business career. In 1978, producer Gary Marshall saw one of Jim's Second City performances and hired him for his first TV role—a part on the NBC sitcom, Who's Watching the Kids? A year later, he landed a part on a second, short-lived sitcom, the CBS show Working Stiffs.

In 1979, Jim starred in the play Sexual Perversity in Chicago, performed at the Apollo Theater in New York City. After taking a second theater role in 1980, he scored his first film part, in Thief (1981).

In 1983, still reeling from his brother's fatal drug overdose the prior year, Jim followed in John's footsteps and joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Audiences roared with laughter at Jim's impersonations of popular celebrities like Hulk Hogan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jim's popularity on SNL led to additional small roles in films, and his scene-stealing supporting role in the movie About Last Night propelled him to national fame in 1986.

The rest of the 1980s and the early 1990s brought Jim a torrent of roles in such high-profile films as Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), K-9 (1989) and Curly Sue (1991). Belushi followed these successes with a string of less critically noted TV and film performances, in the mid- to late-1990s, including the first of two sequels to K-9—both of which went directly to video.