John Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on January 24, 1949, to Agnes Demetri (Samaras) and Adam Anastos Belushi, a restaurant owner. His father was an Albanian immigrant, from Qytezë, and his mother was also of Albanian descent. He grew up in Wheaton, where the family moved when he was six. Though a young hellion in grade school, John became the perfect all-American boy during his high school years where he was co-captain of the Wheaton Central High School football team and was elected homecoming king his senior year. He also developed an interest in acting and appeared in the high school variety show. Encouraged by his drama teacher, John decided to put aside his plans to become a football coach to pursue a career in acting. In this article, we will talk about John Belushi's Biography including Net Worth, Age, Birthday, Height, Weight, Family, Children etc.
John Belushi Biography
After graduation in 1967, John performed in summer stock in rural Indiana in a variety of roles from "Cardinal Wolsey" in "Anne of a Thousand Days" to a comic detective in "Ten Little Indians". In the fall of his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, John changed his image into a bad-boy appearance by growing his hair long and began to have problems with discipline and structure of attending classes.
Dropping out of Wisconsin, John spent the next two years at the College of DuPage, a junior college a few miles from his parents' Wheaton home, where his father began persuading him to become a partner in his restaurant, but John still preferred acting. While attending DuPage, John helped found the "West Compass Players", an improv comedy troupe patterned after Chicago's famous "Second City" ensemble.
In 1971, John made the leap to "Second City" itself where he performed in various on-stage comic performances with others, who included Harold Ramis and Joe Flaherty. John loved his life at "Second City" where he performed six nights a week, perfecting the physical "gonzo" style of comedy he later made famous.
A year later, John and his live-in girlfriend from his high school years, Judith Belushi-Pisano, moved to New York because John had joined the cast of National Lampoon's Lemmings, an off-Broadway rock musical revue that was originally booked for a six-week run but played to full crowds for nearly 10 months.
In 1973, John was hired as a writer for the syndicated National Lampoon's Radio Hour which became the National Lampoon Show in 1975. John's big break came that same year when he joined the ground-breaking TV variety series Saturday Night Live (1975) which made him a star. The unpredictable, aggressively physical style of humor that he began on "Second City" flowered on SNL.
In 1978, while still working on Saturday Night Live (1975), John appeared in the movie Goin' South (1978) which starred and was directed by Jack Nicholson. It was here that director John Landis noticed John and decided to cast him in his movie National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). John's minor role as the notorious, beer-swilling "Bluto" made it a box-office smash and the year's top grossing comedy. Despite appearing in only a dozen scenes, John's performance stole the movie, which portrays college fraternity shenanigans at a small college set in the year 1962.
In 1979, John along with fellow SNL regular Dan Aykroyd quit the series to pursue movie projects. John and Dan Aykroyd appeared in minor roles in Steven Spielberg's financially unsuccessful 1941 (1979) and, the following year, in John Landis' The Blues Brothers (1980). Around this time, John's drug use began escalating. Cocaine, which was ubiquitous in show-business circles in the 1970's, became his drug of choice. After he first experimented with cocaine in the mid 1970s, John almost immediately became addicted to it. His frequent cocaine sniffing binges became a source of friction between him and Judy, whom he married in 1976.
John's love for blues and soul music inspired the "Blues Brothers". He and Aykroyd first appeared as Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues, a pair of white soul men dressed in black suits, skinny ties, fedora hats and Rayban sunglasses, as a warm-up act before the telecasts of Saturday Night Live (1975). Building on the success of their acts and the release of their album "A Briefcase Full of Blues", John and Dan Aykroyd starred in the movie, which gave John a chance to act with his favorite musical heroes including Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
Although John's reputation for being an off-screen party animal is legendary, his generous side is less well known. Using some of his money, he bought his father a ranch outside San Diego for him to live. John helped set up some of his Chicago friends with their own businesses and even financially helped his younger brother, Jim Belushi, who followed his older brother's path to both "Second City" and Saturday Night Live (1975).
In 1981, John appeared in the movie Continental Divide (1981), playing a hard-nosed Chicago newspaperman who finds romance in Colorado with eagle expert Blair Brown. That same year, John and Dan Aykroyd appeared again in the movie Neighbors (1981), which gave them a chance to reverse roles, with John playing a straight-arrow family man whose life is turned upside down when a wild family man (Aykroyd) moves in next door.
In January 1982, John began work on the screenplay for another movie to be titled "Noble Rot". Also, John had checked into a bungalow at the Chateau Marmont, a popular celebrity hotel in Los Angeles. John's drug use had been steadily increasing for over a year now, which alarmed his wife and friends, but he continued to promise Judy that he would quit someday. On March 5, 1982, John Belushi was found dead in his hotel room at the age of 33. The local coroner gave the cause of death as a lethal injection of cocaine and heroin. Several years later, John's drug dealing/drug user companion during his final weeks, Cathy Evelyn Smith, was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for supplying John with the drugs. Close friend James Taylor sang "That Lonesome Road" at a memorial service at Martha's Vineyard cemetery where John was buried.
To know his complete profile, check the following table.
| Name | : | John Belushi |
| Birth Name/Full Name | : | John Adam Belushi |
| Nickname (s) | : | America's Guest |
| Other Name (s) | : | The Blues Brothers , Kevin Scott |
| Gender | : | Male |
| Date of Birth | : | January 24, 1949 |
| Birthplace | : | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Citizenship | : | American |
| Height | : | 1.7 m |
| Weight | : | - kg |
| Profession (s) | : | Actor , Writer , Music Department |
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John Belushi Age in 2023 and Birthday Info
In this section, we will add John Belushi's birthday-related information. John Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA on January 24, 1949.He died on in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (acute cocaine and heroin intoxication). Check the below table for more information.
| Date of Birth | : | January 24, 1949 |
| Birth Place | : | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Country | : | United States |
| Date of Death | : | 1982-3-5 |
| Death Place | : | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (acute cocaine and heroin intoxication) |
| Aged | : | 33 years |
| Next Birthday | : | 24 January, 2024 |
| Horoscope(Zodic Sign) | : | Aquarius |
John Belushi Height and Weight
Now we are going to add John Belushi's Height (In Meter, Centi Meter, and Feet-Inches) and Weight (In Kilogram and Pounds). As weight changes frequently, we may not have the current weight of John Belushi. The height of John Belushi is 1.7 m. Check the below table to see in more units.
| Height in Meter | : | 1.7 m. |
| Height in Centimeter | : | 170 cm. |
| Height in Feet-inches | : | 5'7" |
| Weight in Kilogram | : | - kg |
| Weight in Pounds | : | - lb |
John Belushi Family (Spouse, Children, Parents, Siblings, Relatives)
In this section, we will add John Belushi's complete family information including his martial status, husbandorwife, children, parents, relatives, and siblings.
| Marital Status | : | Married |
| Spouse (s) | : | Judith Belushi-Pisano (31 December 1976 - 5 March 1982) (his death) |
| Children (s) | : | - |
| Parents (Father and Mother) | : | Adam Belushi , Agnes Belushi |
| Relatives | : | Jim Belushi (sibling) , Marian Belushi (sibling) , Jamison Belushi (niece or nephew) , Robert Belushi (niece or nephew) , Jim Belushi (niece or nephew) |
John Belushi Social Accounts (Facebbok, Instagram, Twitter, Website)
In this section, we will add John Belushi's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and personal website.
| : | John Belushi Facebook | |
| : | John Belushi Instagram | |
| : | John Belushi Twitter | |
| Personal Website | : | John Belushi Webiste |
John Belushi Net Worth in 2023
Are you curious to know what was the net worth of John Belushi at time when he died. The net worth of John Belushi was $2 Million. We do not guarantee the net worth of John Belushi is the exact amount. This is based on several sources on the internet.
John Belushi Facts and Trivia
Here is the list of top facts about John Belushi.
- 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.
- Had signed to play a supporting role in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), but died before the film went into production. He was replaced by James Woods.
- 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 at the age of 33, 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.
- Older brother of Jim Belushi. Uncle of Robert Belushi.
- While co-hosting an episode of Siskel & Ebert & the Movies (1986) with Richard Roeper, longtime friend and collaborator Harold Ramis revealed that it was Belushi's longtime ambition to play Ludwig van Beethoven in a feature film.
- 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.
- The Polish rock group Lady Pank (who provided the music for the animated series O dwóch takich, co ukradli ksiezyc (1962)) wrote a song called "John Belushi", which appears on the album "Tacy Sami". The tune was composed by Jan Borysewicz and the lyrics were written by Zbigniew Holdys.
- 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).
- John was the original choice to be Dan Aykroyd's co-star in Spies Like Us (1985) (in the role that eventually went to Chevy Chase). Aykroyd and Belushi discussed the upcoming movie with Gene Shalit on Today (1952); the clip is included as a special feature on the "Best of John Belushi" DVD.
- 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.
- Universal wanted him to co-star with Dan Aykroyd in An American Werewolf in London (1981). They were both busy with Neighbors (1981) and John Landis wanted fresh faces.
- 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 considered to star as Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980).
- 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 played by Eric Siegel in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something (2002), Tyler Labine in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), and Michael Chiklis in Wired (1989).
- He was going to reunite with Dan Aykroyd in About Last Night... (1986), where John's role went to his brother Jim Belushi, who starred in the original play.
- 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.
- The day when John Belushi was born was Monday.
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