John Belushi siblings: Marian Belushi, Jim Belushi, Billy Belushi

John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Throughout his career, Belushi had a personal and artistic partnership with his fellow SNL star Dan Aykroyd, whom he met while they were both working at Chicago’s Second City comedy club.

Born in Chicago to Albanian-American parents, Belushi started his own comedy troupe with Tino Insana and Steve Beshekas, called “The West Compass Trio”.

After being discovered by Bernard Sahlins, he performed with The Second City and met Aykroyd, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Harold Ramis.

In 1975, Chevy Chase and Michael O’Donoghue recommended Belushi to SNL creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels, who accepted him as a new cast member of the show after an audition.

Belushi developed a series of characters on the show that reached great success, including his performances as Henry Kissinger and Ludwig van Beethoven.

After his breakout film role as Bluto in National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), Belushi appeared in films such as 1941, The Blues Brothers, and Neighbors.

He also pursued interests in music, creating with Aykroyd, Lou Marini, Tom Malone, Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Paul Shaffer, The Blues Brothers, which led to the successful film of the same name.