“He was a force of nature.” – Mitch Glazer

“All the doors of the continent were open to him. He was America’s Guest” – Dan Aykroyd

“He could’ve given us a lot more laughs, BUT NOOOOOOOO!” – Anonymous sign at Belushi’s grave in Martha’s Vineyard.

Who was this guy? What merits him icon status? His premature death at the hands of drugs in 1982? Or was it his comic genius, which remains lasting to this day?

John Belushi blasted onto the scene in 1975, along with the rest of the “Not Ready For Primetime Players” on Saturday Night Live. Though Belushi went into auditions adament that “television was garbage; his television was covered with spit.” Belushi did think however, that SNL was a fresh, revolutionary idea. He was soon hired. Ironically though, John wasn’t the first breakout “star” of SNL. That title went to Chevy Chase, off the heels of his weekly spot on the satirical Weekend Update, and his signature quote “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.” Belushi was frustrated by this, but his frustration would not last. Chase left the show in 1976, leaving the door open for Belushi to break out.

With characters such as The Samurai, the Weatherman (BUT NOOOOOO!), his authentic and hilarious impressions of Joe Cocker, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor, Belushi and SNL became a late night sensation, and stayed that way for 30 years.


Belushi as The Samurai

In 1977, Belushi was offered a role in a seemingly small film about a fraternity and it’s experiences in 1962. The film was Animal House, and Belushi’s character was Bluto Blutarsky, the slob of the fraternity. When it opened in 1978, it became the highest grossing comedy of all-time, and truly made Belushi a star. Belushi’s Bluto became one of the most recognizable characters in comedic history.



Around this time Belushi also garnered an interest in the Blues, escalating to forming his own band and mythology about the band, with Dan Aykoroyd. In 1978 The Blues Brothers band released Briefcase Full of Blues, and it became the number 1 album in the country. By the time John Belushi turned 30 years old on January 24, 1979; Belushi had the number one late night show on television, the number one album in the country, and the number one film in the country, a trifecta never achieved before or since.

Off the heels of Animal House and the Blues Brothers’ massive success, a film was made. The Blues Brothers, the story of Jake and Elwood, two brothers trying to save their childhood orphanage, opened in 1980. The film made $65,000,000 worldwide, and became a cult hit. Belushi and The Blues Brothers Band then hit the road and went on a massive nationwide tour.



Belushi’s career was not just filled with successes, though. Belushi and Aykroyd both starred in Steven Spielberg’s box office nuclear bomb 1941 in 1979. In 1981, Belushi starred in his last two films, Continental Divide, and Neighbors. Divide received mixed reviews, some saying Belushi was the next Spencer Tracy, and others wanting Bluto.

Neighbors was a completely different animal. At first Belushi was to play the crazy new neighbor and Aykroyd to play the suburbanite, yet at the last second Belushi and Aykroyd switched roles. Add on the fact that Belushi and Aykroyd both detested director John G. Avildsen (even half jokingly searching for a hitman to do the job on him) and you had one serious combustible situation. Larry Gelbart’s screenplay was turned completely upside down and Avildsen not being an experienced director of comedies showed (which ironically was part of Spielberg’s flop 1941) and Neighbors was a commercial and critical disappointment.

In the end, part of Belushi’s legacy would be his premature death. On March 5, 1982 Belushi was found dead in his bungalow in the Chateau Marmont hotel overlooking the Sunset Strip. The death was ruled a accidental drug overdose. Belushi’s substance abuse escalated from recreational marijuana use to finally, and fatally, heroin. He was 33 years old.


Belushi's final resting place. "He always slept well on the Vinyard."

John Belushi’s legacy leaves glimmers of golden comedic moments, but altogether ended tragically, and far too early.

“Yeah, they all though I’d be the first one to go. I was one of those “Live Fast, Die Young, Leave A Good Looking Corpse” types, you know? But I guess they were wrong.” – John Belushi, Don’t Look Back in Anger



FIN

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Very special thanks to ronnierocketAGO.

BRAVO DA, Bravo!

Great ICON article on the one and only John Belushi, a man who's impact still wipes its ass with punks that work for years but never have an ANIMAL HOUSE or BLUES BROTHERS or whatever.

Good job dude! :p

Wonderful job, Andrew! I loved it.

I'm still working on his biography (having to read it on and off with school), but it sure has opened my eyes to the life of Belushi.

The last quote you included, I recognized - my parents bought me the "Best of..." SNL DVD for him, and I saw that skit on it. I swear, that thing was giving me chills. I, of course, wasn't around when he was alive, so seeing it when he'd already passed and realizing the sheer irony of it just freaked me out.

Anyway, thanks for doing this - you did a nice job.

Thanks for the kind words folks.

My ex and I were fans of the show ever since the first episode with George Carlin hosting. We were blown away by Belushi's imitations (most notably that of Marlon Brando) and quickly became fans of his as well.

I wrote away for tickets to the show after the second episode and about a year later we got our tix. Unfortunately they were only for a rehearsal show (they ran through the show at 7:30 on the night the show was to air). Julian Bond was hosting and it was a pretty uneventful show except for the fact that Belushi climbed onto the railing of the upper deck (where we were sitting in the first row) and was talking to the people next to us (it was evident he knew them). As he was hanging off the railing (10' off the stage floor) he was smoking a joint.

He was the first of the great "fat men" comdians to die early (followed by John Candy and Chris Farley). It would have been awesome to see him later on in his career but I guess his "hunger" for life (and one of the things that made him such a great comic) is the same thing that helped bring him down.

He made me laugh. RIP John.

Before I saw him on SNL, I remember hearing his voice on a National Lampoon Radio Hour bit called "The Perfect Master." I remember the sketch because he presented his character as a college student at the University of Illinois where I intended to go to college. It's probably been 30 years since I last heard that sketch on the radio, but I can remember it like it was yesterday.

I hadn't thought about that in a looooong time...so I now have to google and see if that audio file is somewhere on the internet...

There is some question as to whether or not John's remains are still at Martha's Vineyard. I have seen it written that he may have been moved and interred with his parents...here in the Chicago area...

tony b.

Nice job, DA. How could someone so very full of life be dead, and at such a young age?? It's hard to believe.

john was a funny guy he was married to my cousin judy and they would come to our family picnics way back in the day like i said he was a funny guy

You're cousins with Judy? That's cool.

I miss John Belushi

Capodi..welcome. Wow some post to enter the BB on!

Like SC, I remember starting out with SNL from the beginning. My wife and I never missed a show the first few years. I was a Belushi fan; especially the Joliet Jake character. I remember vividly the first Blues Brothers act on SNL. As a viewer I was slightly confused; was it a parody? was it real? These guys were good! And I'll never forget Joe Cocker's reaction to John imitating him as they sang side-by-side. Joe had a look like..what the hell is this guy doing? He looked pissed, amused, and confused all at once.

FOOD FIGHT!

MaryCas -- Belushi's parody of Joe Cocker on SNL wasn't the first time he actually did that act...thought it was the BEST performance side-by-side with Cocker himself. Find a copy of the National Lampoon "Lemmings" album which pre-dates SNL. Belushi uncorks an excellent Joe Cocker while performing an original song composed for the Lemmings show. John just nails it...and leaves no doubt that it's supposed to be Joe Cocker.

Capodi -- welcome to the boards! Your cousin Judy also had a college roommate that's gained a fair amount of fame in her own world as John did in his.

tony b.

hey yo tony b i used to live in e p i stay in alabama now kinda had to get away for a while know what i mean ;}

Some of the stuff about Belushi, post mortem, is gruesome. His body is "not" in the resting place mentioned above. Supposedly he has been moved a few times. Once, allegedly, the casket had water damage and John...umm...fell out. Well, parts of him did, anyways.

Well, he has been moved, but I believe just within the same cemetery on Martha's Vineyard. There are rumors that he was moved to Chicago, but as of now they're unfounded.

As for the water damage thing, I've heard that too. Not much to say there.