John Belushi
John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. John was the child of Adam Belushi, an Albanian immigrant who left his native Qytezë village in 1934 at the age of 15, and Agnes, was born in the U.S. of Albanian immigrants. John has a brother named James who is also a famous actor.
Belushi's first big break as a comedian occurred in 1971, when he joined the Second City comedy troop in Chicago. Thanks to his uncanny caricature of singer Joe Cocker's intense and jerky stage presence, he participated in National Lampoon's "Lemmings" stage show in 1972 (which also featured future Saturday Night Live performer Chevy Chase).
He achieved national fame with his work on Saturday Night Live, which he joined as one of the original cast members in 1975. He left Saturday Night Live to pursue a film career, and he appeared in a number of movies, including The Blues Brothers (with Dan Aykroyd) and Animal House.
He was also known to indulge in bouts of drinking and involvement with drugs which eventually cost him his life. John was found dead on March 5, 1982 in a hotel room. The cause of death was a lethal injection of cocaine and heroin. There was some suspicion of foul play by his companion and drug dealer at the time, Cathy Smith.
John Belushi is interred in Abel's Hill Cemetery, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Referenced By
1949 | 1949 in music | 1949 in television | 1976 (music) | 1976 in music | 1978 | 1978 in film | 1978 in music | 1978 in television | 1980 in film | 1982 | 1982 in film | 1982 in music | 1982 in television | 24 January | 24th January | 5 March | 5th March | Actors/Male | Animal House | Biographical Listing/BE | Blair Brown | Blues Brothers | Blues Brothers 2000 | Bob Woodward | Chateau Marmont Hotel | Chris Farley | Cocain | Cocaine | College fraternity | Compass Players | Crack cocaine | Don Novello | Easy Pickens | Fraternities and Sororities | Freebase | Hunter S. Thompson | Hunter S Thompson | James Belushi | January 24 | January 24th | Jim Belushi | Joe Cocker | Let's Roll | List of Albania-related articles | List of Albania-related topics | List of Albanians | List of Comedians | List of artists who died of drug-related causes | List of celebrities who've suffered drug addiction | List of celebrities who are proven drug users or have been caught with drugs | List of celebrities with drug history | List of celebrities with drug using history or who have been caught with drugs | List of celebrities with illicit drug history | List of famous Albanian people | List of famous Albanians | List of male actors | List of male movie actors | List of notable actors | List of notable drug-related deaths | List of people by name: BE | List of show business families | March 5 | March 5th | National Lampoon's Animal House | Not Ready for Prime-Time Players | Notable Drug-related Deaths | Paul Shaffer | Robert Woodward | Saturday Night Live | Schtick | Second City | Slim Pickens | Slogan: Let's Roll | Slogan 'Let's Roll' | Sorority | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Steve Martin | Student fraternities | The Blues Brothers | The Rutles
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