COMEDIAN John Belushi was an actor and comedian who was one half of the Blues Brothers team and one of the original performers on Saturday Night Live.
Belushi was discovered dead on March 5, 1982, in the Chateau Marmont.
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Who was John Belushi?
Born on January 24, 1949, Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician who was one of the founding cast members of Saturday Night Live on NBC.
Belushi maintained a personal and artistic collaboration throughout his career with fellow SNL star Dan Aykroyd, whom he met while they were both working at Chicago’s Second City comedy club.
Belushi, who was born in Chicago to Albanian American parents, formed The West Compass Trio with Tino Insana and Steve Beshekas.
He played with The Second City after being found by Bernard Sahlins, where he met Aykroyd, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Harold Ramis.
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Belushi’s personal life was marred by severe drug use, which jeopardized his comedic profession; he was fired and rehired at Saturday Night Live multiple times as a result of his conduct.
In 2004, he was given a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
How did John Belushi die?
On March 5, 1982, Belushi died after an accidental overdose at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.
In 1982, Belushi was commuting back and forth between his New York City and California homes to work on the script for his screenplay for Noble Rot.
During the final week of his life, Belushi booked a bungalow at the Chateau Marmont, a prominent hotel for the Hollywood set.
At the time, he was also heavily into narcotics and according to Ranker.com, he was reportedly spending roughly $2,500 per week on his drug habit in the months preceding up to his death.
He was supposedly partying with Robin Williams on the night of March 4, 1982, and Belushi was discovered dead in his hotel room the next day.
He died of a drug overdose of cocaine and heroin, known as a speedball when he was just 33 years old.
Cathy Smith, a woman who had been with him and had supplied him with narcotics, was questioned by the police and then released.
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What movies is John Beluchi known for?
Beluchi first appeared on the big screen in the John Landis comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House.
Belushi played Bluto Blutarsky, the obnoxious, barely spoken frat brother whose immortal quips included “toga, toga, toga” and “food fight.”
Belushi’s other picture, released in 1978, was a flop.
He featured in the western failure Goin’ South alongside Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen, but only in a minor role.
The next year, he starred alongside Talia Shire in the film Old Boyfriends, which failed to attract an audience.
With Captain Will Bill Kelso in 1941, he returned to comedy.
The Steven Spielberg film was partially based on a true story of a Japanese submarine that was discovered off the coast of the US following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
