Overview (5)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (5)



On Saturday Night Live (1975), he often did a running act on the Weekend Update section where he would give an editorial speech that starts calmly, but increases in emotional intensity until the end he is screaming and flailing around like a maniac.

Often played comically intense, volatile, even sometimes sloppy man-child characters.



In his trademark comic rantings, he would include a long, detailed explanation of something he was trying to support or confirm, and then broke into a shouting "Buuuut nnnnnOOOOOO!", continuing to rant into the negative.



Often known for his expressive eyes and the solitary raised eyebrow



Impressive knack for physical comedy despite his heavy physique



Trivia (63)

Raised in Wheaton, Illinois as a child.



Attended Edison Middle School in Wheaton, Illinois.



Attended Wheaton Central High School, now Wheaton Warrenville South High School, in Wheaton, Illinois.



Following his untimely death, he was interred at Abel's Hill Cemetery in Chilmark (on Martha's Vineyard), Massachusetts. His grave is unmarked.



Used to borrow a $20 bill from new acquaintances, judging them from their reactions at his request.





Had starred alone in a black and white Saturday Night Live (1975) sketch titled "Don't Look Back in Anger", in which he played himself as an old man visiting the graves of the other original SNL cast members, himself being the last survivor. In an odd twist of fate, Belushi was the first of the cast to die.

Began his career in Shawnee Summer Theatre of Greene County's youth theatre education program, in Bloomfield, Indiana.



Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 38-40. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387



A petition drive was started to have a commemorative stamp printed by the U.S. Postal Service for the actor.



At the time of his untimely death, Belushi was rewriting a script entitled "Noble Rot".





4/1/04: Posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6355 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The ceremony was attended by his brother Jim Belushi and friend and partner Dan Aykroyd . Also in attendance were John's widow Judith Belushi-Pisano and fellow SNL cast member Chevy Chase



Made a "Guest Star Appearance" on an episode of the television series Police Squad! (1982) which showed him underwater wearing cement shoes. He died shortly before the episode aired, so the scene was cut and replaced by a segment with William Conrad . After the success of the Naked Gun movies in the early 1990s, ABC-TV re-aired episodes of "Police Squad!" and hoped to re-edit the Belushi scene back into the episode. However, the footage could not be found and is now presumed lost or destroyed.



Was good friends with fellow Saturday Night Live (1975) player Dan Aykroyd . Belushi personally met with Aykroyd at a speakeasy that Aykroyd frequented to discuss the possibility of Aykroyd joining Saturday Night Live (1975), which is where they hit it off. While they were talking, Aykroyd put on a blues record, which stirred a fascination in Belushi, who was primarily a fan of heavy metal. SNL music director Howard Shore later heard about Aykroyd re-familiarizing Belushi with blues music and suggested that they do a musical sketch, which eventually led to the birth of their popular "Blues Brothers" act.



The role of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984) was originally written for Belushi. After his death, the role went to fellow SNL player Bill Murray



Was scheduled to present the first annual Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 1982 Academy Awards with Dan Aykroyd , but died weeks before the ceremony. Aykroyd presented the award alone, and stated from the podium: "My partner would have loved to have been here tonight to present this award, since he was a bit of a Visual Effect himself.".



His favorite comedienne was Lucille Ball , he knew every detail of her life and career.



Was billed as "Kevin Scott" on an episode of Saturday Night Live (1975), as a spoof on suggestions that his name Belushi be softened or changed, for the television audience (John's Albanian family had kept the name when they came to America, so he wanted to also.).



His good friend Dan Aykroyd used to refer to the green ghost Slimer from Ghostbusters (1984) as "the ghost of John Belushi", based on the similar party animal personality.



A scene was deleted from 1941 (1979) in which his character met Dan Aykroyd 's character right before he boarded the Japanese submarine. They looked at each other as if recognizing each other, a nod to their real life friendship. This was the only scene in the film where they interacted.



Chris Farley was an admirer of Belushi and, sadly, Farley too died in his early 30s just when his career appeared to be taking off.

There is a John Belushi Memorial Scholarship for Performing Arts at his alma mater, College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, Illinois).





The epitaph on Belushi's tombstone (on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts) read, "He made us laugh, and now he can make us think." John's grave drew so many curious viewers that his casket had to be moved and reburied in an unmarked corner of the cemetery... after which Belushi's fans posted a new epitaph for him which has since become famous: "He could have given us a lot more laughs, but NOOOOOOO!" (This was taken from one of his more-famous catchphrases on Saturday Night Live (1975)).



Attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. He bought his famous "College" shirt seen in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) at a small shirt shop on "The Strip" (Illinois Street or US Route 51) in Carbondale, which still exists.



His performance as John "Bluto" Blutarsky in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) is ranked #48 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 61-62. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.





Belushi died in bungalow #3 of the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles. The last two stars to see him alive were Robert De Niro and Robin Williams , both of whom had visited Belushi, on separate occasions, shortly before his death.

Was very generous, financially, to family and friends, often loaning them money when they asked. Toward the end of his life, Belushi's business manager asked him to contact several family and friends and generate money by demanding they make good on their loans. Belushi refused.





Had appeared with Michael O'Donoghue in "Wolverines", the very first sketch on the first SNL show in 1975.



He discovered the band Fear and brought them to Cherokee Studios to record songs for the soundtrack of a major motion picture, he and Dan Aykroyd were starring in, called Neighbors (1981).



Was good friends with Wrestling Legend Dusty Rhodes

Belushi's nickname "America's Guest" stemmed from his habit of wandering to a random house of a complete stranger, knocking on the door, going in, helping himself to something in the refrigerator and then sleeping on the stranger's couch. Most strangers, recognizing who he was, did not seem to mind Belushi's "visit".



Since Albania was under communism during his youth, Belushi often told people he was of Greek and Italian descent.





Came first in Rolling Stone's ranking of every Saturday Night Live (1975) castmember.



He turned down the role of Bill in Night Shift (1982). He later died during the making of the film.



He was supposed to appear in Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), but died before filming began. His role went to Dan Aykroyd



He was going to star opposite Dan Aykroyd in a film adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" until his death put an end to that.



The thrash metal group Anthrax penned a song about Belushi on their 1987 album Among the Living, titled "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.).".



He turned down the lead role in Arthur (1981) because he didn't want to be typecast.



In a 2011 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986), Jane Curtin claimed that he was a "misogynist" who would deliberately sabotage the work of women writers and comics while working on Saturday Night Live (1975). "So you'd go to a table read, and if a woman writer had written a piece for John, he would not read it in his full voice. He felt as though it was his duty to sabotage pieces written by women.".



He was a huge fan of Star Trek (1966) and got to play Captain Kirk in the famous Saturday Night Live (1975) sketch "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise". He even went so far as to trim his sideburns so that they'd match Kirk's. William Shatner even confessed that he liked Belushi's performance better than his own.



He auditioned for the male lead in The Blue Lagoon (1980), but was deemed too funny for the part.



He was going to star in a film adaptation of "A Confederacy of Dunces" directed by Harold Ramis until his death put an end to the project.



He got clean and sober for Continental Divide (1981).



He was going to star opposite Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin in ¡Three Amigos! (1986). Martin mentioned it in a Playboy interview published in January 1980, referring to the movie as "The Three Caballeros".

He was a huge fan of Marvel Comics, to the point where he was supposedly able to give quick summaries of stories just by looking at the covers when he visited Marvel's offices.



He was voted homecoming king in high school.



He was captain of his high school football team.





Belushi was first discovered dead from a cocaine and heroin overdose in his bungalow at the Château Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles by close friend and martial arts champion Bill Wallace

Credited his Albanian grandmother with inspiring him to take up show business. Since she could neither speak nor understand English, young John had to act things out for her...which often made the woman laugh.



Enjoyed listening to heavy metal music, particularly when played loud.



With his premature passing at age 33, American comedy had lost one of its more promising comedians.





While he lived at 60 Morton Street in Manhattan in the 1970s, his next-door neighbor was actor Elliott Gould

He was a close friend of Leif Garrett.



John was a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. Even more famously, in the classic film, The Blues Brothers (1980), Jake and Elwood say that their address is 1060 West Addison Street, which is Wrigley Field.



Personal Quotes (4)

Some comedians love their characters. I don't fall in love with mine. In fact, I get tired of them very fast. You have to be willing to throw it all away.



Back in Chicago, all we cared about was rock 'n' roll and staying out of the army.



I give so much pleasure to so many people. Why can I not get some pleasure for myself?



[how he acquired the nickname 'Wrestling Shoes from his cousins] They were a couple of years older and much funnier than me. Every time I opened my mouth, they would cut me down. We were playing poker one New Year's Eve, and they won all my money. I left the table and suddenly burst into tears. They asked me what was wrong, and I said , "That was for my wrestling shoes". So they called me Wrestling Shoes ever after.



Salary (3)