John Belushi

John Belushi

John Adam Belushi was an American actor, comedian and singer. He was one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He died of a drug overdose in 1982, at the age of 46, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. In 2004, he was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

About John Belushi in brief

Summary John BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American actor, comedian and singer. He was one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Belushi had a close personal and artistic partnership with fellow SNL star Dan Aykroyd. In 1982, Belushi died from combined drug intoxication possibly caused by Cathy Smith, who injected him with a mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a speedball. In 2004, he was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. He is survived by his wife, Judith Jacklin, and their three children, Billy, Jim, and Marian. He also had a son, Jim Belushi, and a daughter, Marian Belushi. He died of a drug overdose in 1982, at the age of 46, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He had a long and successful acting career, including roles in National Lampoon’s Animal House, 1941, The Blues Brothers, and Neighbors. He and Jacklin were married on December 31, 1976, in New York City. They had three children: Billy, Marian, and Billy Belushi Jr., who died in 2009. He appeared in the film Neighbors, which was based on a novel written by Belushi’s brother, Jim. In 1975, he appeared in a parody of Woodstock called Lemmings, which played Off-Broadway in 1972. He played Henry Kissinger on SNL as well as Ludwig van Beethoven on the show. In his personal life, he struggled with heavy drug use that threatened his comedy career; he was dismissed and rehired at SNL on several occasions due to his behavior.

He started his own comedy troupe in Chicago, the West Compass Trio, with Tino Insana and Steve Beshekas. In 1974, he met and began working with Harold Ramis, Joe Flaherty and Brian Doyle-Murray at The Second City comedy club. In 1976, he moved to New York to work on The National Lampoons Radio Hour, a comedy show produced and written by the staff of National lampoon magazine. In 1979, he joined the cast of the TV show Matty Simmons, which he co-wrote and co-starred in with Brian Doyle Murray, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest and Richard Belzer. In 1981, he starred in the TV series The Adventures of John Belushi in which he played the lead role, John Blutarsky. He later appeared in several other films, including Neighbors and The Godfather. In 1986, he had a starring role in the television series The Godparents, which aired on PBS. In 1989, he played a character in the movie The Big C, based on the novel by John McWhorter. In 1991, he became a U.S. citizen and moved to Los Angeles to live with his family. In 1992, he married his longtime girlfriend, actress and producer Judith Jacklins. In 1994, he started a family with his son, James Belushi; the couple had two children, James and James Jr.