snl star trek belushi

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Watch: 5 Star Trek Sketches From 4 Decades Of Saturday Night Live

| September 27, 2014 | By: Anthony Pascale 16 comments so far

Tonight NBC’s Saturday Night Live kicks off their 40th season. Over the years the show has had some fun with another show that began decades ago on NBC – Star Trek. We have compiled 5 Star Trek sketches from over the years starting with a sketch from the first season in 1976 all the way through to 2009. Watch them below.

Flashback: 4 Decades Of SNL and Star Trek

The Last Voyage of the Enterprise Season 1, Ep. 22 (1976)

The first, and probably the best, Star Trek sketch from SNL featured NBC executives boarding the Enterprise to cancel the show, with John Belushi playing Kirk, Chevy Chase as Spock, Dan Akroyd as McCoy (and Scotty’s voice), and guest star Elliot Gould as the NBC executive.

Star Trek V: The Restaurant Enterprise Season 12, Ep. 8 (1986)

With William Shatner hosting it was inevitable the show would do a Trek parody, this time the premise is the Enterprise had been bought by the Marriot Corporation which had turned it into a restaurant, and Khan (played by Dana Carvey) was a health inspector.

Star Trek Convention (Get A Life!) Season 12, Ep. 8 (1986)

From the same episode with Shatner hosting, this time Bill plays himself at a Star Trek convention. Titled “Star Trek Convention,” the infamous sketch is better known for Shatner’s famous exclamation to the gathered Trekkies to “get a life!.” This phrase even inspired Shatner’s later “Get a Life!” book and “Get a Life!”documentary about Trek fans.

Love Boat: The Next Generation Season 19, Ep. 12 (1994)

When Patrick Stewart hosted another Trek parody was inevitable, this time the premise combined Star Trek: TNG with The Love Boat with the Enterprise as a "Galaxy Class Cruiseship Pacific Princess."

boat of love the next generation from Alejandro Valle on Vimeo .

Weekend Update w/ Pine, Quinto and Nimoy Season 34, Ep. 21 (2009)

As part of the promotion of the 2009 Star Trek movie, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto appeared on the "Weekend Update" portion of the show, with Leonard Nimoy also popping in.

NOTE: There was one sketch not available online. “Star Trek Democrats” from SNL’s season 17 featured the 1992 Democratic presidential candidates campaigning at a Star Trek convention.

Let’s hope that SNL and Star Trek continue to live long and prosper together for decades to come, and hopefully meet again as well.

Being out of the US I am only able to view the Love Boat parody. What a pity. I’ve seen most of them before but never the 2009 segment.

Overseas readers can find these on youtube. I’m not sure why they won’t play here.

Belushi — best Shat impression ever!

Nealon — most Data-like Spock

Me … first?

Google Hola for access to websites as if outside your country.

In 1992 or 1996 SNL did a sketch showing the Democratic presidential candidates speaking at a Star Trek convention, attempting to pander to the “Star Trek vote”. It was very funny. Anyone know where that can be found?

Belushi really did do a great Shatner.

And the McCoy joke in the second one is one my favorites. “Bones! This man needs medical attention!” “Damnit Jim, I’m a doctor, not a…. Oh! Oh, sure!”

Oh, and as a casting gag, they got the same guy to play Sulu every time.

1994 – yikes! What a time to be watching jokes about beheadings and Joan Rivers!!!!

o. ~~~~SPOILER ALERT!!~~~~

Honorable mention:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=star+trek+carol+burnett&qpvt=STAR+TREK+CAROL+BURNETT&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=DDC544DA2F81247B973CDDC544DA2F81247B973C

I’ve been referencing the “We all get older, Khan” line for years. Nice to see it again.

I wish Chris Pine and/or William Shatner would host SNL this season, would be cool to see! :D

Michael O’Donohue did a masterful job on the original 1970’s parody and really did his research. When the skit fades out, as Belushi records the final Captain’s log and gives his serial number, it is in fact the same one from “Court Martial.”

I had to wander over to Youtube to get to see these, but they were funny – some more so than others. I liked the Last Voyage the best of the SNL skits, and I loved the Weekend Update.

That Patrick Stewart hosted episode is LEGENDARY.

I saw “The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise” on its first airing in 1976. John Belushi really nailed Kirk. Not surprising, as Belushi was known to be a “Trek” fan. Live Long and Prosper. Promise.

“Right on, Buck Rogers. Is that an order??” — LMFAO!

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By Anthony Lane

It seemed illogical, when John Belushi played Captain Kirk on “Saturday Night Live,” in 1976, that “Star Trek” could still be a sentient dramatic form thirty-seven years later. The skit showed an NBC executive in blazer and shades, played by Elliott Gould, invading the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise and announcing the death of the original TV series—a death that had already occurred in 1969. Phasers were to be confiscated and returned to the props department. Gould ripped the ears off Spock (Chevy Chase) and tossed them on the floor. And Belushi was perfect; he mimicked the dying falls of William Shatner’s voice and added a smear of his own perennial fatigue, never that far from disgust. The deconstruction process was complete. How could any show come back from that?

And now look at it. “Star Trek Into Darkness,” directed by J. J. Abrams, is a great thundering cudgel of a movie, set to stun. It continues the rebuilding of the franchise that was initiated by Abrams in “Star Trek,” in 2009, with much of the same cast: Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoë Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, Anton Yelchin as Chekov (who stands in as chief engineer), John Cho as Sulu, and Simon Pegg as a semi-Scottish Scotty. New to the scene is Peter Weller—a fine actor, frightening and reflective, who was well used by Antonioni and David Cronenberg, though he is still best known for the jutting of his mandible in “RoboCop.” In this film, he plays a Starfleet admiral, and one glance at that taut, bony face tells you that he considers the old mission statement—exploring strange new worlds, and all that—to be no more than long-distance tree-hugging. How about anchoring the Enterprise off the shore of a distant Klingon hangout and launching seventy-two photon torpedoes? That’s more like it.

The cause of this intemperate act is a man named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), although that is a nom de guerre. When he reveals his true identity, half the audience will yawn, while the other half—Trekkies who revere the “Star Trek” of the nineteen-sixties in the way that certain Catholics hark back to liturgical life before Vatican II—will dissolve into warm, trembling puddles beneath their seats. Harrison, having created havoc on Earth and fled through space, is caught and hauled onto the Enterprise. “Seems that we have a superman on board,” Bones says. Wrong movie, Doctor! We are also told that Harrison has “superblood,” which suggests that the screenplay was composed not by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof, as the credits claim, but by a classroom of eight-year-olds. All of which presents a problem: how do you dig deep into a character when he’s only two inches thick? Benedict Cumberbatch has found international fame with the BBC’s “Sherlock”—a chance to meld his honeyed, mellifluous voice with the comical speed of tongue, and of wits, that the part of Holmes demands. The timbre remains, in Abrams’s film, and there is sufficient natural oddity in Cumberbatch, with his stone-still posture and his polished, unhandsome features, to hint at an alien gene, but the movie simply gives him too little to bite on. “I am better,” he tells his captors. “At what?” “Everything,” he replies. Yeah, whatever.

In most respects, sad to say, starting with the grammatical fuzz of the title, “Star Trek Into Darkness” marks a big leap backward from Abrams’s effort of 2009—and, even further, from his handling of “Super 8” (2011), whose teen-age heroes were so much more appealing, and more acutely observed, than any of the tight-suited strivers on the Enterprise. As for the new plot, it proceeds by spasm and lurch. At one juncture, for no good reason other than a desperate injection of suspense, Bones descends to a “planetoid,” in the company of an implausible weapons expert (Alice Eve), just to inspect a torpedo. Later, on the same principle, the warp drive on the Enterprise sputters to a halt, forcing poor Chekov to stop drafting his sequel to “The Cherry Orchard” and change the carburetor in the warp-core. The climaxes come one after another, with diminishing returns. By the end, the sight of a crippled spaceship crashing into San Francisco counts as a welcome breather.

As if to counter this chaos, more intimate scenes are moisturized in ways that Shatner, and other veterans, would find risible. For one thing, people keep weeping. Why? The only thing at stake here is intergalactic war and peace. Toward the end, even Spock succumbs, for crying out loud; I hoped that Vulcan tears might prove to be made of nitric acid, and that he might blow his nose and burn a hole in his handkerchief, but no joy. The gist is that he has finally broken the interspecies barrier and experienced human feelings, but this surely sets a dreadful precedent. As a biologically determined hard-ass, Spock may flirt with mortal mush but must never yield to it, and, if he’s going to spend the next few movies mooning over his fellow crew members, like something out of “The Notebook,” and assuring them that he’ll always be there for them, what is the point of him or his ears? You wind up feeling doubly bullied—first by the brutal enormity of the set pieces, and then by the emotional arm-twisting of the downtimes. Neither bears more than the faintest impress of reality, and the outcome is not a proper film at all. It’s a filmoid.

No happy families are alike. Turn a camera on them, and they will start to look unhappy in their own way. Such is one of the thoughts arising from “Stories We Tell,” a film by Sarah Polley. Her previous works as a director, “Away from Her” and “Take This Waltz,” revolved around fictional characters—women cut adrift from the course of their lives and swept into unexpected currents. No need for the new movie to look so far; it is a documentary about Polley’s nearest and dearest. You could call it family history, except that, as Polley discovers, the present remains flooded by the past. The dear is always near.

At the beginning, we are introduced to Sarah’s father, Michael; to her siblings, Joanna, Susy, Mark, and John; and to a few aging friends, with names like Harry and Mort, each of them summoned in turn and asked to remember. They seem genial enough, making the usual cracks about how nervous they are, how they will appear onscreen, whether they can take a pee before they start, and so forth. Yet, beneath the bonhomie, you sense a more deep-bedded anxiety, which Polley taps away at with a mischievous good cheer. “We’ve told you it’s a documentary, but it’s actually an interrogation process,” she says.

The common theme is Diane Polley, Sarah’s mother, who died, of cancer, twenty-three years ago, when Sarah was eleven. Diane was a laugher, a partygoer, and a fount of delight; John used to watch “I Love Lucy” and think that Lucille Ball was his mother. She and her husband were both actors, based in Toronto, but she found him increasingly sparkless and disappointing. Like many openhearted souls, she kept her secrets firmly stashed away, among them the question of what occurred, and who was involved, when she once went to Montreal to do a play and left Michael in charge of the kids. There was a long-standing in-joke that Sarah never resembled her father, and, as with most such jokes, it became less funny over time, and more tender to the touch. Had her actual father been one of the performers in that play—Tom, Wayne, or Geoff? And who would want to star in a real-life rerun of “Mamma Mia!” without Abba to soothe the pain?

“Stories We Tell” finds a dazzling and difficult poise, between obfuscation and epiphany. The stuff that gets unearthed is hardly shattering, and some viewers will read the ending as a happy one. Others, though, will notice worrying levels of fallout: “Oh, we all got divorced!” Joanna says, with a merry smile, when asked about the aftermath of Sarah’s inquiries, and there is a squirm of discomfort, early on, when Mark mutters darkly about not speaking, on the advice of his lawyer. Yet that is not what needles you most. The Polleys had a cine-camera, and Sarah makes lavish use of old footage; but so adept is she at locating the exact shots, sometimes from decades earlier, to match the contributors’ spoken memories that you start to harbor suspicions. Could she be inventing as well as recording? We are told, for example, that, after Diane passed away, a mourning Michael spent hours playing solitaire; and, right on cue, up comes a grainy sequence of his younger self at cards. I will say no more, except that Polley, in her conjuror’s artfulness, demonstrates that it is possible both to keep something up your sleeve and to wear your heart on it. Seldom has our modern taste for the confessional mode been so smartly explored, although it must be said: by the end, part of me wanted to get out of the cinema, into fresh and less constrictive air, where family truths are still there for the grasping, or so we like to believe. I kept thinking of Spock, in “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and of his proud declaration: “Vulcans cannot lie.” Lucky them. ♦

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Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi

During his time at SNL, original cast member John Belushi created some of the most memorable characters in television history. One of the most brilliant comedic performers of all time, Belus... Read all During his time at SNL, original cast member John Belushi created some of the most memorable characters in television history. One of the most brilliant comedic performers of all time, Belushi's rebellious presence and intensity changed the face of comedy forever. From classic or... Read all During his time at SNL, original cast member John Belushi created some of the most memorable characters in television history. One of the most brilliant comedic performers of all time, Belushi's rebellious presence and intensity changed the face of comedy forever. From classic original characters like the Blues Brothers, King Bee and Samurai Warrior to incomparable im... Read all

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• Connections Edited from Saturday Night Live: Saturday Night Live: George Carlin/Billy Preston/Janis Ian (1975)
• Soundtracks Piano Sonata No. 14 (uncredited) Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven

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SNL Transcripts Tonight

For Die Hard Saturday Night Live Fans

SNL Transcripts: Elliot Gould: 05/29/76: The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise

Mr. Spock…..Chevy Chase Captain Kirk…..John Belushi Mr. Sulu…..Akira Yoshimura Lt. Uhura…..Doris Powell Voice of Mr. Scott…..Dan Aykroyd Dr. McCoy…..Dan Aykroyd Herb Goodman…..Elliot Gould Curtis…..Garrett Morris

Announcer : The following program is brought to you in livingcolor by NBC.

Mr. Spock : Captain Kirk to the bridge! Captain Kirk to the bridge!

Captain Kirk : Yes, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : Sensors are picking up an unidentified vessel, Captain, headed straight for us.

Captain Kirk : Range, Mr. Sulu?

Mr. Sulu : .43 light years, sir, and closing fast.

Captain Kirk : Lt. Uhura, open a hailing frequency.

Lt. Uhura : I’ve been trying to reach them, but there’s been noresponse, sir.

Captain Kirk : [ into microphone ] This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Identify yourself. [ to Uhura ] Put them on the viewscreen, full magnification.

Lt. Uhura : Aye aye, sir.

Captain Kirk : [ into microphone ] Repeat. Identify yourself.[ viewscreen shows a maroon 1968 Chrysler limo flying behind them ] What kind of ship is that, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : Fascinating, Captain. It would appear to be an earlygas combustion vehicle, at least two or three hundred years old.

Captain Kirk : Run it through the computer. Find out what thoselittle numbers mean. I want answers.

Mr. Spock : Process visual feed. Analyze and reply.

Captain Kirk : I have a hunch, Mr. Spock, that we are about to face a menace more terrifying than the flying parasites of Ingraham B; more insidious than the sand-bats of Manark 4; more bloodthirsty than the vampire clouds of Argus 10. I have a hunch that “thing” out there is deadlier than the Romulans, the Klingons, and the Gorns all rolled into one.

Mr. Spock : Here is the readout, Captain. The computer has identified the alien vessel as a 1968 Chrysler Imperial with a tinted windshield and retractable headlights.

Captain Kirk : And the little blue and orange numbers?

Mr. Spock : That’s called a “California license plate”, and it’sregistered, or was in 1968, to a corporation known as “NBC”. Wait.. there’s something more.. The computer isn’t sure, but it thinks this NBC used to manufacture cookies.

Captain Kirk : Could that be some sort of illusion, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : It’s no illusion, Captain. Scanner readings indicate two life forms inside that craft.

Captain Kirk : Mr. Sulu, increase speed to Warp Factor Eight.

Mr. Sulu : But, sir, that’s only for the most extreme emergencies. The ship can’t take it.

Captain Kirk : You heard my order, Mr. Sulu.

Mr. Sulu : Aye aye, sir.

Captain Kirk : [ recording Log ] Captain’s Log, Stardate 3615.6. On a routine delivery of medical supplies to Earth Colony 9, we are being chased through space by an automobile three centuries old, owned by a company that manufactured cookies. It would all seem silly if it weren’t for this feeling of dread that haunts me, a sense of impending doom.

Mr. Sulu : They’re right behind us, Captain.

Captain Kirk : Let’s lose them, Mr. Sulu. Prepare for evasive action. Helm hard to port! ..Hard to starboard! ..Hard to port!

Mr. Spock : Frankly, Captain, I’m exhausted.

Captain Kirk : Me, too. Stabilize, Mr. Sulu.

Mr. Sulu : Look, Captain, it’s no use. We can’t shake them.

Captain Kirk : Then we’ll give them a fight they won’t forget. [ into intercom ] All hands! Man your battle stations! This is not a drill! Red alert! Man your battle stations! Red alert!

Mr. Spock : But, Captain..

Captain Kirk : Lock phasers on target, Mr. Sulu.

Mr. Sulu : Phasers locked on target, sir.

Mr. Spock : But, Captain, you can’t..

Captain Kirk : Stand by to fire.

Mr. Sulu : Phasers standing by, sir.

Mr. Spock : But, Captain, we don’t know who the aliens are, or what they want. To kill them without warning would be highly illogical.

Captain Kirk : Fact: their intentions are unknown. Fact: I amresponsible for the lives of 430 crewmen. And, fact: I can’t afford totake any chances. Fire main phasers! [ nothing happens ] I said, “Fire main phasers!”

Mr. Sulu : I’m trying, sir. Nothing is happening.

Captain Kirk : Arm and lock photon torpedoes, Mr. Sulu.

Mr. Sulu : They’re not working either, Captain.

Captain Kirk : Deflectors up.

Mr. Sulu : Captain, the helm does not respond. The controlsare dead.

Mr. Spock : We’re slowing down, Captain. We’re stopping.

Captain Kirk : Bridge to engine room, acknowledge.

Voice of Mr. Scott : [ through control panel ] Scotty here, Captain.

Captain Kirk : What in blazes is going on, Scotty?

Voice of Mr. Scott : I dinna know, Captain. We’re losing power, and I don’t know why!

Captain Kirk : Well, do something, man! Go to manual override. Cut in auxilery systems.

Voice of Mr. Scott : Saints preserve us, Captain, but even theemergency systems are out.

Captain Kirk : Well, fix it, Scotty. I don’t care how, but fix it! The lives of 430 crewmen hang in the balance.

Mr. Spock : Life support system are still operative, Captain.

Captain Kirk : But for how long, Mr.Spock? For how long?Lieutenant Uhura, inform Starfleet Command of our situation.

Lt. Uhura : All communications are dead, Captain.

Dr. McCoy : Jim, Jim.. I.. I.. Jim..

Captain Kirk : Great God, man, spit it out!

Dr. McCoy : The aliens have boarded us, Jim, and they’re headed this way!

Captain Kirk : But how, Bones? How did they get on board? Did they beam on? Did they suddenly materialize?

Dr. McCoy : No, they just sort of stepped out from behind thecurtains.

Mr. Spock : Describe them, Doctor.

Dr. McCoy : There’s two of them. Bipeds, humanoid in appearance.Their clothing is drab except for a bright piece of cloth worn around the neck of the leader.

Mr. Spock : Was their anything else odd about their clothing?

Dr. McCoy : I’m a doctor, not a tailor, dammit! Wait, there was one other thing about them that seemed a bit strange. They spoke English! Quick, Jim, I hear them coming up the Turbo-lift! They’ll be here in seconds!

Captain Kirk : We’ll be ready for them, Doctor. [ they all pointtheir phasers at the entranceway as two executives enter ] Welcome aboard the Starship Enterprise. I’m Captain James T. Kirk, representing the United Federation of Planets.

Herb Goodman : Hi, I’m Herb Goodman, head of programming for thenetwork.

Captain Kirk : Stand back, I won’t hesitate to shoot!

Herb Goodman : Can I have your attention. Curtis, you want to turn off those sound effects?

Herb Goodman : Everyone, please, can I have your attention? I have an announcement to make. Due to low Nielsen ratings, we at NBC have decided to cancel “Star Trek”.

Captain Kirk : Fire at my command!

Herb Goodman : On your way out, stop by the cashier’s office andpick up your checks.

Captain Kirk : Set phasers on “stun.” Fire!

Dr. McCoy : They’re not firing, Jim!

Captain Kirk : Try “kill!”

Dr. McCoy : Nope, still nothing. Herb Goodman : You’ll make sure the property department gets those things back ,won’t you, fellas?

Mr. Spock : Most peculiar, Captain.. I can only conclude that they possess some sort of weapons deactivator, in which case I shall merely render him unconcious with my famous Vulcan nerve pinch.

Dr. McCoy : For God’s sake, man, we’re on a five-year mission toexplore space, the final frontier, and dammit, we’ve only been out three years!

Herb Goodman : Sorry, but it’s those Nielsens. If it was up tome, of course..

Captain Kirk : What are these “Nielsens” that the alienkeeps mentioning, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : If I remember my history correctly, Captain, Nielsenswere a primitive system of estimating television viewers once used in the mid-twentienth century.

Dr. McCoy : If Man were meant to fly, he’d have better ratings, is that what you’re saying, Mr. Goodbody, whatever your name is? Come on, George, Nichelle.. let’s go tie one on.

Lt. Uhura : I’m with you, Kelley.

Mr. Sulu : Maybe I’ll just go home..

Captain Kirk : Belay that kind of talk, Dr. McCoy.

Dr. McCoy : Forget it, Bill. We lost. It’s over. Are you coming, Leonard? [ Spock attempts nerve pinch on Dr. McCoy ] Knock it off, you joker!

Captain Kirk : Wait, Mr. Spock! We have yet to try Vulcan mind meld, where you actually enter the alien’s brain, merge with his intelligence and read his thoughts.

Mr. Spock : I entered Mr. Goodman’s mind while you were talking to Dr. McCoy, Captain. [ Curtis enters and pries the set apart with a crowbar ] It was all.. all dark and empty in there. And.. and there were little mice in the corners and spiders had spun this web..

Captain Kirk : Spock!

Mr. Spock : I kept bumping my head on the ceiling, and once..

Captain Kirk : Snap out of it, Spock!

Mr. Spock : [ with a shudder ] It’s okay, Captain.. I’m alright now.

Herb Goodman : What do you think, Curtis? Any chance we can sell this junk to “Lost in Space”?

Curtis : Well, it all comes apart..

Captain Kirk : Hey, get away from there!

Curtis : Right on, Buck Rogers! Is that an order?

Captain Kirk : No, it can’t end like this! I won’t let it! This is my ship! I give the orders here! I give the commands! I am responsible for the lives of 430 crewmen, and I’m not going to let them down! There’s got to be a way out!

Curtis : Let’s go, boys.

Mr. Spock : You are becoming quite emotional, Captain. Needless to say, my trained Vulcan mind finds such open displays of emotion distasteful. Emotion, you see, intereferes with logic, and it is only by dealing with problems in a logical, scientific fashion that we can arrive at valid solutions. Now, with regard to the alien takeover of the Enterprise, I would suggest that we seek some new alternative, based upon exact computer analysis, of course, and taking into consideration elements of.. [ suddenly breaks into a weeping lunatic ] .. Oh, God! I don’t believe it! We’re cancelled! How could they do this? Everyone I know loves the show! I have a contract! What about my contract! I want my ears back!

Herb Goodman : Curtis, can you give me a hand here?

Curtis : I have a couple Valium in my tool box, maybe that’ll help.

Captain Kirk : So, it’s just me, is it? Well, I’ve been in tougher spots. Surrender? No way. I’d rather go down with the ship!

Herb Goodman : Oh, Shatner, your agent called you. Something about a margarine commercial. He said he’d call back.

Captain Kirk : Captain’s Log, final entry. We have tried to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. And except for one television network, we have found intelligent life everywhere in the galaxy. Live long and prosper. Captain James T. Kirk, SC 937-0176 CEC.

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Author: Don Roy King

Don Roy King has directed fourteen seasons of Saturday Night Live. That work has earned him ten Emmys and fourteen nominations. Additionally, he has been nominated for fifteen DGA Awards and won in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. View all posts by Don Roy King

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John Belushi

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John Belushi as Bluto Blutarsky in Animal House.

John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982) was a castmember from 1975 to 1979, and was among the very first cast members of SNL.

John became good friends with SNL co-star Dan Aykroyd , and the two became a famous comedy team. The two performed together in Blues Brothers and Olympia Cafe sketches, as well as in the movies The Blues Brothers , Neighbors , and 1941 .

Belushi impersonated Marlon Brando, Joe Cocker, and Elizabeth Taylor, among others. Interestingly, one of his impressions, Steve Rubell, would be played in a dramatic role in the film 54 by another SNL alumni, Michael Myers, nearly two decades after Belushi's performance on SNL. Another noted performance was as himself in a commercial lampooning the Wheaties commercials of famous athletes, where he is shown competing in a pentathlon then saying "Little chocolate donuts have been on my training table for years".

John's last episode as a regular was on May 26, 1979 , but made many more cameo appearances. He left to make movies. His best known movie role is arguably that of John "Bluto" Blutarkski in National Lampoon's Animal House .

• 2.1 Impressions
• 2.2 Characters
• 3 SNL Career

Belushi 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, at the age of 33, in a hotel room at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, a lethal injection of cocaine and heroin. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, among others, and while there was some dispute in the findings it was eventually officially ruled a drug-related accident. There was some suspicion of foul play by his companion and drug dealer at the time, Cathy Smith, who was a former backup singer for The Band.

Impressions/Characters [ ]

Impressions [ ].

• Cesar Romero
• Dino De Laurentiis
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Elvis Presley
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Fred Silverman
• George Wallace
• Henry Kissinger
• Herman Goering
• Jack Kerouac
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Jimmy Hoffa
• John Lennon
• Leonid Brezhnev
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Marlon Brando
• Menachim Begin
• Richard Daley
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• Sam Peckinpah
• Sanjay Gandhi
• Steve Rubell
• Sun Myung Moon
• Truman Capote
• Vasiliy Alekseyev
• William Shatner
• Woody Hayes
• Yasser Arafat

Characters [ ]

• Captain Ned
• Frank Leary
• Jeff Widette
• Larry Farber
• Lowell Brock
• Matt Cooper
• Samurai Futaba
• Steve Bushakis

SNL Career [ ]

• 1975-1979: Not Ready for Prime Time Player
• March 15, 1980, October 31, 1981: Guest Star

Gallery [ ]

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JOHN BELUSHI SLICES AND DICES, Dec. 13, 1975 (Season 1)

The original samurai sketch introduced Belushi and host Richard Pryor as a pair of katana-wielding, mock-Japanese-speaking bellhops arguing over who should carry a guest's luggage. But the gag — which became SNL 's first recurring sketch — had been part of Belushi's repertoire long before he joined the Not Ready for Primetime Players. "He auditioned for SNL with the samurai character," says Alan Zweibel (who was on the show from 1975 to 1980 and wrote "Samurai Deli," "Samurai Stockbroker" and "Samurai Night Fever").

Read more Lorne Michaels on 40 Years of 'SNL': Being "'Feared' Was Never My Goal"

CANDICE BERGEN BECOMES A BEE, Dec. 20, 1975 (Season 1)

NBC told Michaels to kill the "Killer Bees" sketch, but he put it in the show anyway … over and over again. "I loved when we did the 'Bee Capades' on the first Christmas show," says Bergen. "I had on this Sonja Henie skating outfit, red velvet with ermine, and [before the show], we all went down in the elevator — the elevator was filled with bees on skates. The elevator guy never looked at us."

JAKE AND ELWOOD SING THE BLUES, Jan. 17, 1976 (Season 1)

The Blues Brothers started as a warm-up act for SNL 's live audience. " Danny [ Aykroyd ] wanted to play harmonica, and John [ Belushi ] wanted to sing, so I let them up onstage," says SNL 's original music director, Howard Shore , who initially introduced them as "those brothers in blues." When the duo finally got airtime, they became an international sensation, spawning 14 albums and two feature films.

Watch more 'SNL's' Five-Timers Club: Justin Timberlake, Alec Baldwin Celebrate 40 Years of Funny  (Video)

LORNE OFFERS THE BEATLES A CHECK, April 24, 1976 (Season 1)

"Please allow me to address myself to just four very special people: John , Paul , George and Ringo ," SNL 's creator announced, looking into the camera, then offered The Beatles all of $3,000 to reunite on the show. "Divide it up any way you want. If you want to give less to Ringo, that's up to you." What Michaels didn't know was that McCartney and Lennon were watching the show in Lennon's New York apartment and briefly considered coming to the studio. "Paul told me what happened," says Michaels . "Just the idea that they were watching …"

CHEVY CHASE PEES BLOOD, Sept. 18, 1976 (Season 1)

His impression of  Gerald Ford  wasn't very good — he just blew his nose into his necktie and took pratfalls — but it sealed the 38th president's image as Oaf in Chief (and set the tone for  SNL 's political coverage). The bit nearly crippled Chase. " Willie Day  was our prop guy — he was about 88," he recalls. "I was doing Ford in a debate against Danny [ Aykroyd ] as Carter. We were both at lecterns, and at the end, I just fell forward, which I was supposed to do. Willie was supposed to have lined it with a cushion. I was in the hospital for a week. I peed blood."

Read more Bill Carter on Covering 'SNL' and Lorne Michaels: "Many Lost Their Minds in Pursuit" of His Approval

ELVIS CHANGES HIS TUNE, Dec. 17, 1977 (Season 3)

Elvis Costello  was seven seconds into the song "Less Than Zero" when he decided to make live-TV history by stopping his band, The Attractions, and launching into "Radio, Radio." "It was perfectly fine," insists Howard Shore . "I was standing with Lorne right at the camera line, and we both looked at each other and shrugged."

LORNE DEMANDS BLOOD, Dec. 9, 1978 (Season 4)

Dan  Aykroyd 's "The French Chef" originally was set to air on an earlier episode. "But Lorne wanted to hold the sketch because there wasn't enough blood," says early  SNL  writer   Anne Beatts . "I heard somewhere that  Julia Child  thought it was hilarious. I really give her credit for that. Seeing a sketch on TV where you're being portrayed by a man bleeding to death — it takes a sense of humor."

See more Lorne Michaels and the 'SNL' Cast Through the Years (Photos)

LORNE GOES ON HIATUS, May 24, 1980 (Season 5)

The fifth season finale concluded with a shot of the "on air" sign flickering off. Michaels would be leaving the show that night, and so would the remainder of the original cast. Michaels had hoped NBC brass would let the show go on hiatus so he could catch his breath. "I had just done five years at a very intense place, so the idea of pulling it all together with a brand-new group, I was just too exhausted and I didn't think I could do it." Associate producer Jean Doumanian was selected as Michaels' replacement.

CHARLES ROCKET DROPS THE F-BOMB, Feb. 21, 1981 (Season 6)

The infamous expletive — picked up by microphones during the closing segment while Rocket was riffing with host Charlene Tilton — not only got Rocket fired, but it also triggered a clean sweep of the whole show. Jean Doumanian was replaced by Dick Ebersol , who fired almost everyone after a day of watching rehearsals. "I met with  Brandon  [ Tartikoff ]," remembers Ebersol, "and I said: 'You know, there's not a lot there. But I'm crazy about that one guy who's not a castmember.' That was  Eddie Murphy ."

Read more 'SNL' Writer Alums Reveal Years of Sleep Deprivation and How to Deal With Crazy

SNL SAYS GOODBYE TO JOHN BELUSHI, March 20, 1982 (Season 7)

Belushi had left SNL three years earlier — along with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd and the rest of the original cast — but his overdose on March 5, 1982, at the Chateau Marmont was a body blow to the show. Writer  Brian Doyle Murray , Bill Murray 's brother and a longtime friend of Belushi's, stepped before the cameras and recounted in a halting voice how he once witnessed Belushi getting hit by a bus and walking away unscratched. "I always thought he was indestructible," he told the live audience. Belushi's death was the first in what would be a long, sad series of cast tragedies: Gilda Radner 's cancer, Charles Rocket 's suicide, Phil Hartman 's murder, Chris Farley 's overdose.

STEVIE AND FRANK SING A DUET, May 22, 1982 (Season 7)

In the writers room, this spoof of the 1982 Paul McCartney – Stevie Wonder hit "Ebony and Ivory" — with Eddie Murphy doing Wonder and Joe Piscopo impersonating Frank Sinatra — was much edgier than what aired. But it wasn't NBC's censors who insisted on toning it down, it was Piscopo. "Sinatra was so important to Italian Americans," he says. "I didn't care if I was fired, I didn't care if it didn't work. I just didn't want to embarrass the Sinatra name."

See more 'SNL' Five-Timers Club: Exclusive Portraits of Alec Baldwin, Justin Timberlake, Tom Hanks and More (Photos)

THE SWIMSUIT EDITION, Oct. 6, 1984 (Season 10)

Watching the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Harry Shearer couldn't believe synchronized swimmers were "getting the same medals as real athletes," as he recalled in Live From New York . Shearer, Martin Short and Christopher Guest didn't use a choreographer to map out their underwater routine — they made it up themselves. The mockumentary was a big influence on "Lazy Sunday" co-writer Akiva Schaffer and the SNL Digital Shorts he'd create two decades later. He says he watched it "over and over" as a kid.

LORNE RETURNS, Nov. 9, 1985 (Season 11)

When Dick Ebersol departed after four seasons, NBC flirted with canceling the show. Instead, Michaels agreed to come back, but it wasn't a triumphant return. The season premiered with an off-key cold open in which NBC president Brandon Tartikoff joked about drug-testing the cast and an awkward Madonna as host. The cast, which featured 17-year-old Anthony Michael Hall , Robert Downey Jr. and Damon Wayans , didn't jell. By season's end, recalls writer Carol Leifer , "People didn't know whether it was going to get picked up or not."

Watch more 'SNL': Dana Carvey Impersonates Paul McCartney, Explains Who John Lennon Is to Kanye West (Video)

NANCY REAGAN IS PLAYED BY A GAY MAN, Feb. 8, 1986 (Season 11)

Terry Sweeney became the first openly gay SNL member, a casting milestone Carol Leifer remembers as being a "big deal" in a season that didn't go so well. Sweeney's nickname, "Terry Queeny," was a compliment, insists Anthony Michael Hall , "because he was really funny." Sweeney says the highlight of his stint was doing his Nancy Reagan impersonation opposite Reagan's son Ron , who told Sweeney that he was "more like his mother than his mother was."

THE CHURCH LADY GETS PUNCHED, Oct. 24, 1987 (Season 13)

Sean Penn could take only so many snide asides about his then-wife ("Oh, Madonna she's named after the mother of our Lord, but she doesn't quite live up to the same standards, does she?") before taking a (fake) swing at the Church Lady. The character, which Dana Carvey created "playing around at a Melrose Improv thing," generated some of SNL 's snappiest catchphrases. Isn't that special?

Read more 'SNL' at 40: Molly Shannon Tells Andy Samberg Why Mary Katherine Gallagher Almost Didn't Happen

SNL SAYS GOODBYE TO GILDA RADNER, May 20, 1989 (Season 14)

Radner died, poignantly, on a Saturday just before showtime.  Steve Martin  announced the grim news on the air.  Mike Myers , who was finishing up his first season on the show, had special reason to grieve. "Gilda had played my mom in a TV commercial," he says. "I fell in love with her immediately. And when I saw her on  Saturday Night Live , I turned to everybody and said, 'I'm going to be on that show.' " Myers heard the news from a reporter right before the night's broadcast. "I started to cry in the lobby."

JULIA SWEENEY: TRANSGENDER BEFORE IT WAS BUZZY, Dec. 1, 1990 (Season 16)

The audience was ho-hum when Sweeney debuted the gender-mysterious Pat, inspired by two men (one fat, one skinny) with whom she'd worked when she was an accountant. "But a week or so later Roseanne Barr hosted, and she loved the character, so we wrote another sketch," says Sweeney. This time it killed, and Pat kept coming back another dozen times.

Watch more 'SNL' at 40: Past Hosts and Writers Share 40 Years of Memories (Video)

‘WAYNE’S WORLD’ GOES TO WAR, Jan. 19, 1991 (Season 16)

Doing a "Wayne's World" special report as the cold open only 72 hours after the start of the first Gulf War (after spending days locked in the basement watching cable news, Garth and Wayne announced they'd become "experts in the field of military hardware") was an insane risk that easily could have gone horribly wrong — but it didn't. "We didn't know if it was going to be horrific casualties," recalls Mike Myers . "The sketch got rewritten 25 seconds until air. As I was talking, the [cue] cards were being written out."

STEVEN SEAGAL: WORST. HOST. EVER., April 20, 1991 (Season 16)

There are many contenders for the title of worst host : Charles Grodin , who skipped rehearsal; Frank Zappa , who deliberately kept breaking character; Milton Berle , who exposed himself to a writer. But SNL writer Bob Odenkirk swears Seagal should top the list: "I remember pitching [him] the monologue idea, and he kept saying over and over, 'I don't know; I've never seen this show. I don't know what you do here.' "

Read more 'SNL's' Five-Timers Club: Alec Baldwin, Justin Timberlake Share Tales of Hosting Five (or More) Times

SINEAD’S SHOWSTOPPER, Oct. 3, 1992 (Season 18)

Suddenly her haircut no longer was the most controversial thing about her. When Irish singer Sinead O'Connor finished her haunting a cappella version of Bob Marley 's "War," she took out a photo of Pope John Paul II and tore it up, urging the audience to "fight the real enemy." Jaws throughout NBC dropped to the floor. "She was difficult, which was no surprise," says Jim Pitt , SNL 's music booker at the time. "Two years earlier we booked her to perform 'Nothing Compares 2 U,' but early that week she and castmember Nora Dunn announced that they were boycotting the show to protest the booking of Andrew Dice Clay as host."

SNL PREDICTS MONICA-GATE, Dec. 12, 1992 (Season 18)

Before Darrell Hammond 's spot-on Bill Clinton , there was  Phil Hartman 's, which not only captured the cadence of the then-president-elect but also skewered his party-size appetites. Hartman's best sketch had Clinton jogging to McDonald's, where he alternated between making wonkish policy statements and greedily eating everyone else's food. When a Secret Service agent suggested not telling the first lady about the trip to McDonald's, Hartman's response foreshadowed the next eight years of scandal. "There's gonna be a whole bunch of things we don't tell Mrs. Clinton …"

See more 'SNL' Castmembers: Exclusive Portraits of Mike Meyers, Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg (Photos)

MIKE DITKA DOES ‘DA BEARS’, Jan. 9, 1993 (Season 18)

Four days after the Chicago Bears' legendary coach was fired from the job, he turned up on SNL 's cold open with three of his biggest superfans: Todd O'Connor ( Chris Farley ), Pat Arnold ( Mike Myers ) and Bob Swerski ( George Wendt ). The recurring bit about sports nuts who worshiped Ditka was the brainchild of writer Robert Smigel , a dental school dropout who had moved to Chicago to do sketch comedy and discovered superfans while hanging out at Wrigley Field: "I looked around the stands at the fans — they all had those dark aviator glasses and mustaches."

CHRIS FARLEY BUSTS A GUT (AND A TABLE), May 8, 1993 (Season 18)

In the middle of the first "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker" sketch, Farley accidentally fell on a table and crushed it. Huge laugh. From that moment on, Farley made body-slamming furniture a staple of his act. Says Bob Odenkirk , who wrote the sketch, "Matt Foley, as silly and as big and wonderful as it was played, had an element of truth and humanity that Chris brought to it."

Watch more  'SNL' at 40: 'Dick in a Box' 'Lazy Sunday' Writers on the Creation of Their Shorts (Video)

MARY KATHERINE GALLAGHER, ‘DISGUSTING LITTLE SCHOOLGIRL,’ Oct. 28, 1995 (Season 21)

Molly Shannon  had done her accident-prone Catholic schoolgirl bit before coming to  SNL  — it was part of a comedy show with Adam Sandler when both attended NYU — but was advised to keep Mary Katherine Gallagher under wraps when she auditioned for  SNL  (she did). Says Shannon, "A recruiter told me, 'Whatever you do, don't do that disgusting little schoolgirl character — Lorne will hate it.' "

GO SPARTANS!, Nov. 11, 1995 (Season 21)

On her first day as an SNL castmember, former high school cheerleader Cheri Oteri was goofing around, doing some of her old cheers. New castmember Will Ferrell decided to join in. Thus was born the "Spartan Cheerleader" sketch. "I was in line at Bed Bath & Beyond and saw a magnet with our faces on it," says Oteri. "I couldn't believe it. I was looking at everybody in line with me, and I just wanted to say: 'That's me! On a refrigerator magnet! At Bed Bath & Beyond!' "

See more 'SNL': Inside the Show's 40 Most Defining Moments (Photos)

CARELL AND COLBERT GET THEIR START, Sept. 28, 1996 (Season 22)

Before  Steve Carell  became a movie star and  Stephen Colbert  took over  David Letterman 's job — even before they had gigs on  The Daily Show  — they were the voices of Gary and Ace, the Ambiguously Gay Duo. Robert  Smigel 's animated series of shorts about a pair of possibly gay crimefighters became a hugely popular segment (there was even talk of a movie) — which was ironic, considering both Colbert and Carell had auditioned for  SNL  and been passed over.

‘NO ONE CAN RESIST MY SCHWEDDY BALLS,’ Dec. 12, 1998 (Season 24)

NBC wanted to move this skit, which had two NPR hosts ( Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon ) interviewing a local baker named Schweddy ( Alec Baldwin ) about his globe-shaped Christmas treats, to a slot after midnight, when SNL 's raciest skits usually ran. But Lorne Michaels pushed back. “They weren’t going to let us air it [before midnight] because of the word 'balls' being in it over and over and over again,” says Gasteyer. "But Lorne argued, correctly, that the characters were naive, and that was the joke. Lorne gets behind a brave idea, always."

Read more Ben Affleck: 'Saturday Night Live Ignores My Hosting Ideas

WILL FERRELL ON THE COWBELL, April 8, 2000 (Season 25)

Ferrell was supposed to be a cowbell player during the recording of Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." Host Christopher Walken was a music producer who kept demanding more of the clanging sound. The absurdist bit became a cultural meme before anyone knew what a meme was. Even Blue Oyster Cult enjoyed it. "My reaction was hilarity," says the Cult's Donald Roeser , who wrote the tune. "I have to be thankful: It really gave the song a different life."

THE POST-9/11 EPISODE, Sept. 29, 2001 (Season 27)

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appeared with fire fighters and other first responders for the cold open, assuring the city life would go on as normal ( Lorne Michaels asked the mayor, "Can we be funny?" and Giuliani cracked, "Why start now?"). Paul Simon sang "The Boxer."  Reese Witherspoon told a dirty joke. It struck the perfect tone to soothe a still-shaken nation. Tom Hanks remembers watching at home: “It was the granddaddy of all important SNL s," he says. “Lorne has a heavy responsibility to somehow encapsulate the mood of the country. That's pretty easy to do when a new guy is elected president; it's tougher when you’re dealing with a national tragedy."

Read more 'Saturday Night Live': Bill Hader Details Origins of 'The Californians'

RACHEL DRATCH KEEPS A STRAIGHT FACE, May 1, 2004 (Season 29)

The hardest part of doing Debbie Downer — Dratch's buzzkilling character who somehow managed to bring the subject of feline AIDS into every conversation — was not cracking up on camera. "I knew that every time I was about to say this horrible fact, the camera was going to come straight in on my face," she says. "Usually, if you laugh, you can hide or put your head down. But with Debbie Downer, there was no escape."

ASHLEE SIMPSON FALLS TO ‘PIECES,’ Oct. 23, 2004 (Season 30)

SNL writer Liz Cackowski had a front-row seat for the great Simpson lip-synching debacle, when a malfunction made it clear she hadn't sung "Pieces of Me" live. "It was pretty awesome," she recalls. "Everyone was freaking out. [Simpson] was in a panic when she passed us and went offstage. But it was so exciting. Like, 'What just happened?' " A year later, Simpson returned and sang without incident.

See more 'SNL's' All-Star Writers: Seth Meyers, Conan O'Brien, Sarah Silverman Reunite (Photos)

“LAZY SUNDAY” GETS BUSY, Dec. 17, 2005 (Season 31)

The Lonely Island comedy troupe — pals since junior high Akiva Schaffer , Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone — struck comedy gold with their angry rap about cupcakes at Greenwich Village's Magnolia Bakery and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  "We love that tone," says Taccone. "Taking very mundane, lame characters and having them rap very aggressively about their lives." The video helped kick off SNL 's Digital Shorts juggernaut and helped popularize YouTube.

JUSTIN AND ANDY FIND A DICK IN THE BOX, Dec. 16, 2006 (Season 32)

Another digital short by the Lonely Island guys, this had Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg delighting an array of beautiful women by having them open gift boxes in the guys' laps. It practically broke the Internet, racking up 35 million views. "We wanted to do that classic Diner bit of putting your penis into a box to trick a woman into grabbing your penis," says writer Jorma Taccone , explaining the Noel Coward -esque subtlety of the gag. Says Timberlake, "You can make political statements or you can choose to say nothing about nothing and come up with 'Dick in a Box,' which may or may not have been drug-induced."

Watch more 'SNL' at 40: Andy Samberg, Molly Shannon Open Up About Their Auditions (Video)

THE SHOW YOU NEVER SAW, Nov. 17, 2007 (Season 33)

During the 2007-08 WGA strike, an invitation-only crowd gathered at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Chelsea to watch the  SNL  cast perform a live show and help Lorne Michaels celebrate his 63rd birthday. Rachel Dratch  did Debbie Downer, Darrell Hammond did Clinton, and proceeds went to the out-of-work backstage staff.  Michael Cera  hosted — the only time he's ever done so. "It's kind of a silent honor," he says, "what I imagine it would be like to be appreciated posthumously."

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE, Oct. 9, 2008 (Season 34)

The Not Ready for Primetime Players finally got a primetime spot, with three 30-minute "Weekend Update" Thursday specials during the 2008 elections. But adding a second live show to the week almost pushed the writing staff over the edge. "I remember thinking this one sketch is totally not going to make it on the air, there's no way the cards department could write it in time," says writer  John Mulaney . "What they did was they started writing the first batch of cards, so the actors could start, while they kept writing more cards."

Watch more 'SNL' at 40: Fred Armisen Gives a Tour of the Studio (Video)

SARAH PALIN DOES NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2008 (Season 34)

Tina   Fey 's dead-on impression (Fey barely changed a word of Palin's hilarious answers in her Sept. 24, 2008,  Katie Couric  interview) may have helped swing the election for the Democrats. But  John McCain 's running mate at least had the guts to show up a month later to Studio 8H and face her impersonator in the show's cold open ("You are way hotter in person," Alec Baldwin told her). "She was guarded and polite," says  Seth   Meyers , who helped Fey write her Palin parodies. "But most importantly, she was game."

STEFON FINALLY ARRIVES, April 24, 2010 (Season 35)

‘Saturday Night Live’

BETTY WHITE GETS 1.7 MILLION ‘LIKES,’ May 8, 2010 (Season 35)

The unlikely Internet sensation became  SNL 's oldest host — she was 88 at the time — thanks to a Facebook campaign to get her on the show. She didn't disappoint. "I didn't even know what Facebook was," she joked in her monologue. "And, now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time." Before the show, White was "panic stricken," she says. "You walk out in front of a big live audience, and all of the sudden the decades that you've been in television fade away, and you think, 'What am I doing here?' "

LIVE FROM NEW YORK, THE CALIFORNIANS, April 14, 2012 (Season 37)

The soap opera parody skewering the banality of L.A. life — sooner or later, every conversation devolves into explications of the freeway system — started out as a casual, improv bit around the weekly table read while the cast and crew waited for Lorne Michaels to show up. "Lorne was always late," says Bill Hader . "So while we were waiting, we would do this bit where Fred [ Armisen ] would go, 'How was L.A.?' And you would say, 'Great, man,' and then just explain how you got places."

Watch more 40 Years of 'SNL' (Videos)

KENAN THOMPSON SPEAKS OUT, Nov. 2, 2013 (Season 39)

Shortly after black castmembers Thompson and Jay Pharoah criticized the show's lack of African-American females, SNL lampooned itself with a sketch featuring host Kerry Washington , who was run ragged playing Michelle Obama , Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce in rapid succession. Two showcases with the goal of casting African-American women led to the hiring of castmember  Sasheer Zamata in January 2014; next came Leslie Jones on the recommendation of ex-castmember Chris Rock , who says: "I told [Lorne], 'She's 20 years older than everybody in the cast and she hasn't been in improv or whatever, but she's really freakin' funny and you should look at her.' "

Screen Rant

Saturday night live biopic casts its john belushi, dan aykroyd, chevy chase & garrett morris.

The Saturday Night Live biopic SNL 1975 casts the actors portraying season 1 stars John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and Garrett Morris.

• SNL 1975 , a biopic about the creation of the first episode of Saturday Night Live , has cast four new stars as members of the season 1 cast.
• Lamorne Morris will play Garrett Morris, Dylan O'Brien will play Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith will play Chevy Chase, and Matt Wood will play John Belushi.
• The cast already includes Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, and Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster.

SNL 1975 has cast four more of its major players. The upcoming biopic, which is being directed by Jason Reitman, is a dramatization of the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of the first episode of Saturday Night Live , the long-running Lorne Michaels-created sketch show that is still on the air and has made careers for many of comedy's biggest stars. The movie's cast already includes Gabriel LaBelle as Michaels, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, and Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster.

Per Deadline , SNL 1975 has added four new cast members as major stars from season 1 of the show. These new additions are Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, and Matt Wood as John Belushi . Though they share a last name, Lamorne and Garrett Morris are not directly related.

Where You Know The New Cast Of SNL 1975

As may be expected, quite a few of these new cast members come from the world of comedy. This is especially the case for Lamorne Morris, who joined the New Girl cast as Winston Bishop during its second episode, remaining part of the sitcom's main ensemble throughout all seven seasons. While that was his longest television role, he is known for a variety of other comedies including Game Night , Sandy Wexler , and Barbershop: The Next Cut, in addition to his recent role as Deputy Witt Farr in Fargo season 5.

Fargo Season 5 Cast & Character Guide

O'Brien is also known for a long-running television role, having starred as Stiles Stilinski in MTV's Teen Wolf across all six seasons. While that show was somewhat more dramatic in tone, he has embraced comic roles in recent titles, including Not Okay , Curb Your Enthusiasm , and The Other Two . In both the latter titles, he played alternate versions of himself, skewering his persona as the star of Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner movies .

Dylan O'Brien starred as Thomas in the young adult adaptations The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018).

The other two new cast members have less onscreen comic experience between them. Wood is best known for theatrical roles, including SpongeBob SquarePants, and Smith's best-known role is playing The Riddler on Gotham , though he also recently appeared in the buzzy Netflix drama May December . With this new cast of characters, SNL 1975 seems to be setting its intention to blend comedy and drama in its attempt to bring every aspect of the true story of the sketch show to life.

Source: Deadline

SNL: 1975 is a historical drama film directed by Jason Reitman. Based on the debut night of Saturday Night Live, SNL: 1975 recounts the events leading up to the first episode's premiere, with the stress and chaos behind the scenes examined in detail. The film is based on various interviews and accounts of the era's cast members and production teams.

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Jim Belushi Has Always Been an Outsider

Jim Belushi is perched on a shoeshine stand near his hotel in downtown Philadelphia. Starbucks kicked him out for trying to hold this interview in its seating area; though pandemic restrictions here, as elsewhere, are beginning to ease, all is not yet back to normal. For example: It’s been over 15 months since the 67-year-old Belushi was last able to perform improv with his troupe, Board of Comedy. Their first show is in four hours. He’s nervous. Improv isn’t something you turn on and off like a spigot.

“I feel like a dummy right now,” he says.

Despite this time away from the stage, Belushi has stayed busy. Last August, Growing Belushi premiered on Discovery, chronicling his efforts with a burgeoning legal cannabis operation on his 93-acre farm along the Rogue River in southern Oregon. It is the latest chapter in a bending, twisty career that’s taken the self-described outsider from his initiation in Garry Marshall and John Hughes’s creative troupes to a string of auteur collaborations and inside the famed halls of 30 Rockefeller Center.

In a conversation with Vulture, Belushi reflected on his experience being fired — then rehired — for Saturday Night Live , working with the likes of John Candy and Tupac Shakur, and more.

One of 2020’s few bright spots was seeing your request for anime recommendations go viral. How is the binge-watch going? I watch them with my son. We have a ball. I did one many, many years ago, My Neighbors the Yamadas .

People may not realize it, but you cut your teeth on TV when Garry Marshall shows were dominating in the late ’70s. I am a part of the team. Garry Marshall was the one that started it. He saw me in Second City and brought me for a show called Who’s Watching the Kids? And the answer is nobody; they canceled it. Then they brought me back the next year for Working Stiffs with Michael Keaton.

Penny Marshall directed Working Stiffs . Later Jumping Jack Flash . Penny was a good friend of mine, until she passed. She welcomed me into Hollywood. John called her, because I was on the Paramount lot. [ Impersonating John: ] “Take care of my brother, keep an eye on him.” So my first taping, she walks in with Rob Reiner: “Hello, I’m Penny. Your brother wants me to make sure you’re all right.”

You did Thief , which came out a year after Blues Brothers . Did you ever talk to John about making these two definitive Chicago movies? How do you get cast in the first place? 1980. It was just an audition. I happened to be doing Bal at the Goodman Theatre, a pretty high-status regional theater. Maybe that had something to do with it.

[John and I] would watch the Bears game together on the phone. “You see Thief yet?” He kept saying, “Nah nah, not yet. I’m going to go see it. I hear it’s good.” He was too busy, man. [ Laughs. ]

You shot Trading Places a few months after your brother died with a few of his main collaborators, Dan Aykroyd and John Landis. Landis called me. I was sitting on top of a mountain in Julian, California. My dad’s little ranch. Steeped in grief, depression. He called and flew me to New York. I remember it was winter, because we kept getting shut down every weekend, so I got a month’s work out of it. Every weekend had a snowstorm in New York. We were supposed to do the outdoor train scene on a Friday night in Jersey. So I got per diem and salary every week. Free food. Got to hang out in a snowstorm in New York. It was fun.

Plus the more they did that, the more residuals you get. So I’ve been getting residuals from Trading Places till today.

How do you get recommended for SNL ? I went to L.A. and did a “Best of Second City” show at the Huntington Hartford Theatre. It was a benefit to raise money for the John Belushi Scholarship Fund. Everybody in the business came, and [NBC exec] Brandon Tartikoff saw me in the show, called [former SNL executive producer] Dick Ebersol, and told him to put me in [ SNL ]. He said: “I think Jim’s ready.” Dick listened to him because they were partners. Everybody told me not to do it.

Why join the show? I’d talked to John about it. He said, “Why would you want to be on Saturday Night Live ? We captured the hearts of America. No one will ever do that.” I said, “John, c’mon. I went to Second City. You went to Second City. Danny was at Second City. Gilda was at Second City. You guys made the transition from that improvisational style and feel on the stage, which is always difficult to transfer to camera, but you guys found a way to do it. I want to do it because it’s a natural progression for a Second City actor.” He said, “Eh, you’re crazy.” I was a fan of the show. It was close to our heart because guys that we knew were the ones that created it. So I wanted to be there too.

Your first episode on SNL was with John Candy, and you were practically a co-host. Sketches like the phone-booth confessional , and the men behind bars piece , are those things you brought with you from Second City? That was all John! What happened was he shows up with a big hug and says, [ John Candy voice ] “Jimmy Belushi, this is your first show on the big Saturday Night Live ! What do you wanna do? It’s your show, I’m here to help you.” Well, I’d like you to do Johnny LaRue . We sat in a room with [Joe] Flaherty and a couple of the Second City guys and wrote all those sketches. They all got in, first show. All Johnny, Johnny loving me.

What was your crew at SNL ? It’s so notoriously cliquish. I was on the outside. Believe it or not, in the last two days, I’ve realized something: I’ve always been on the outside.

You met Eddie Murphy on the set of Trading Places . Was it the same relationship when you’re on SNL ? Let me tell you something about Eddie Murphy: He is one of the nicest men I’ve ever worked with. He was a huge star at that time, and he always took time with me — always sat with me, and joked with me, and considered every idea I gave him. He handled his fame so well. I said to him, “Are you all right with all this? Because it killed my brother.” He said, “I’m good, Jim. Thank you.” I’m so happy for him and his whole career. He was always a gentleman to me. And he did the best James Brown impression I’ve ever seen!

You were the first cast member to be fired, then rehired. I understand the firing part, but how do you get rehired? Very simple: I was out of control. It was the best thing to ever happen to me. I was out of my mind. I was throwing a fire extinguisher at Dick Ebersol, a hissy fit. SNL is the hardest thing I ever did, and that’s including divorce. I survived it, barely. I went back to him with my tail between my legs. I drop the ego, I got humble. I stopped drinking the rest of that season.

John did four years and he quit. I said, “What the fuck, man? What are you quitting for?” He said, “Jim, it’s like high school: Senior year, you’ve got to move on.” And I felt like I was in my sophomore year, and the second semester that year I finally got it. Then I didn’t come back because Lorne [Michaels] came. But that was because Dick put me in my place, rightfully, and had the courage to do it. I came back; I begged [him] for forgiveness, and he put me on probation. My wife at the time said, “You thrive on probation. You were on probation from freshman to senior year of high school. You operate better with boundaries.”

Your movie run in 1986 is incredible. 1986 is a great year. About Last Night opens on July 2; I got divorced on June 13. Which meant my career took off and she didn’t get half. And then, Salvador comes out. Oliver and Jimmy get nominated for Academy Awards. I ran into Tom Hanks and Jane Fonda, and they both voted for me for Supporting Actor. But Hanks voted for About Last Night , and Jane Fonda voted for Salvador . So I split votes that whole year, and never got nominated. I was like, Damn! I almost got in!

I know you’ve called yourself an outsider, yet you did something like five movies with John Candy. There must be something to that. Well, Danny and John [Candy] are my brothers. When John died, at the funeral, John Candy and Dan Aykroyd separately came up to me, put their arms around me, and said, “Sorry for your loss. If there’s anything you need, we will be watching you.” And, you know, you say those kinds of things, but these two men? They meant it. They took really good care of me.

Your Taking Care of Business co-star Charles Grodin recently died . What was it like working with him? Charles Grodin was the comic actor’s actor. He worked with Elaine May, who started the Second City with Mike Nichols. He captured everything we learned onstage and about improvisation. I was a little bit childlike to work with him, like shooting baskets with Michael Jordan. The great thing about working with him was he was relentless with details. The vision in my mind is me sitting in the makeup chair and him next to me with pieces of paper with stuff that we’d written. The ideas, going back and forth, honing each beat.

It’s a little ironic that Tupac started his film career with Dan Aykroyd in Nothing But Trouble , then it ended with you in Gang Related . Were you aware of his fame when he was cast? I cracked that fucking guy up, man. I said, “I rapped before you were rapping! I rapped on Saturday Night Live in 1983, man, I was doing Grandmaster Flash. So don’t give me any rap shit.” I did White Guy Rap for him, and he laughed his ass off. We had a really good time. Super pro. He was just blooming as an actor.

I am curious about your new role cultivating cannabis. Is this your first experience owning a business? No, I’ve been in a couple of failed businesses. [ Laughs. ]

You have 93 acres on the Banana Belt in Oregon. I’m reminded of last year’s documentary on your brother for Showtime , and the stories about growing up working for your dad in his diner. Is this experience worlds away from this, or did it inform your approach today? By the way, the one thing they missed in that documentary: That’s how my father started . He ended up owning three high-end steak houses. He was a tough guy, and he started that way, but built up. When John and I worked for him, we were putting white tablecloths down.

But I learned everything I do from the restaurant business. I got my work ethic there, my detail work, my endurance working 14 hours a day on movies.

What made you want to get into the cannabis industry? I did some ayahuasca in Peru and had a trajectory change after that. This just fell into my life, plant medicine. I did it as something to grow on the farm. I got sucked up into it. Following this plant has brought me where I’m supposed to be.

There was a period where shows like Family Guy or The Simpsons made the “Jim Belushi joke.” The easy joke. But it feels like there’s been a shift in recent years where you’re now perceived as this chill, cool guy. What do you make of that? I love it. I thought all that was funny. Well, there was a shift in me . I’ve had five lives, and three wives. [ Laughs. ] Three children. I’ve done comedies and dramas and Broadway and improv shows and Blues Brothers. This plant and this farm has shifted me. That was the guy I was, but is that the guy I am today? And why not? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Your career spans five decades. So many of the people we have mentioned — John Candy, John Hughes, your brother — did not get to be nearly as prolific. How have you been able to stay afloat? There’s a lot of ignorance involved. I’ve always been the guy that says, “Let’s try it!” I never turn gigs down. One gig led to another, led to another. The real thing is — and it’s very good for acting — I’m very present. It’s not very good for relationships, but it’s been good for [the] career.

What’s the future hold for the Blues Brothers? We are talking about it right now! We are presently talking with House of Blues about setting up a tour for next spring. Danny doesn’t like to do more than two shows in a row, so I’m not sure what kind of tour that would look like: Record new material, have a lot of guest stars. We would film it and make a little documentary on it.

• jim belushi
• saturday night live
• john belushi
• dan aykroyd
• blues brothers
• eddie murphy

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On stage is the only place where I really know what I'm doing.

John Belushi was born January 24, 1949. The son of Adam and Agnes Belushi, John has 3 siblings: Marian, Jim and Billy.

John graduated from Wheaton Central High School in Illinois in 1967. One of the "popular" kids, he was voted Homecoming King and named "Most Humorous." John was also the co-captain of the school football team. Checking in at 5' 9" tall and 170 lbs, he was an all-conference middle linebacker known to his teammates as "Killer Belushi." John also performed in a variety show, where he caught the eye of Judith Jacklin, who would become his high school sweetheart and future wife.

John turned down a football scholarship at Western Illinois and decided to attend Illinois Wesleyan. He wasn't accepted there and ended up at the University of Wisconsin-White Water. He stayed there for a year and in the Summer of '68 came back to Wheaton. In the fall he enrolled at the College of Dupage, which is a 2 year junior college. On January 5, 1970 he graduated with an associates of the arts degree in general studies.

John's father, Adam, came to America from Albania in 1934. He owned and operated two restaurants and intended to pass the family business to John, but he refused.

John had other things in mind...

In February of 1971, John went to Chicago to audition for The Second City comedy troupe, which featured shows that incorporated rehearsed skits followed by an improvisation hour. John got the job, and at just 22 years old, he was the youngest member in the group's history. Others soon realized that John could easily steal a scene. He played many different characters ranging from the mayor of Chicago to Hamlet.

As John would say as Hamlet:

"To be, to be. Sure beats the shit out of not to be."

By the fall of 1971, John's star was rising quickly. With his flawless impression of Joe Cocker, complete with Joe's unmistakable body movements and facial expressions, John was now appearing in the Second City shows six days a week and was the star of the show. When a former Troupe actor asked John how he was so completely relaxed on stage, John replied, "Because that is the only place I know what I am doing." In the Spring of 1972, after 14 months with Second City, it was time to move onto other things.

In October of 1972, Tony Hendra from National Lampoon Magazine came to see John at Second City. Tony had heard about Belushi's Cocker performance and was looking for more help for his Lemmings show. Lemmings was a parody show that spoofed popular musicians and about everything else. Tony was impressed, and he offered John a job with National Lampoon in New York, which John accepted.

While Lemmings continued to draw sell out crowds with John as the main attraction, he also began working with the National Lampoon Radio Hour .

It was during a visit to the Toronto chapter of the Second City Comedy Troupe that John met a very talented man named Dan Aykroyd, who would become his best friend. John offered Dan a job at National Lampoon which Dan was unable to accept due to prior commitments, but the two promised to keep in touch. They would go on to create entertainment history together.

On February 11, 1975, NBC gave Lorne Michaels a call. They were looking for a show to appeal to younger audiences to fill the 11:30 pm to 1:00 am slot – the difficult ratings, wasteland of late-night tv – on Saturday night. Michaels jumped at the shot with one caveat; the show must be broadcast live. NBC agreed and Lorne set out to assemble the show, including a cast that could handle the rigors and pressure of live television. Amongst the first cast members hired were Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Garrett Morris. Lorne was subsequently urged to hire John, but was reluctant because he thought John was too much a renegade, and too opinionated. On his only interview with Lorne, John announced that he hated television and was only talking to Lorne because he heard this show would be different. Lorne was not impressed. And he certainly did not need an actor who thought of himself as a director. Regardless, John did manage to get an audition for the show.

John had been developing a Japanese samurai character whose basic communication was through expressive grunts and made-up (but enthusiastic!) Japanese. He would pull his hair into a man bun and don an old bathrobe, and to complete his character essentials, utilize a closet pole as a makeshift samurai sword. John showed up for the audition and quickly changed into full samurai garb. His appearance in the hallway garnered attention and the audition room quickly filled to capacity. For an unusually long time, John worked his magic. He was masterful at communicating non-verbally through a combination of expressions and vocal tones. He swaggered, cajoled and improvised situations ranging from shaving to cooking to playing pool. He threatened harakiri at the least slight. The room was enthralled with the performance; people – including Lorne, some say – were gut laughing. Tears streaming down the face belly laughing. Lorne had no choice but to hire the rebel.

On October 11, 1975, fifteen minutes before the start of the first show, John finally signed his contract with NBC. From studio 8H in NBC's Rockefeller Plaza, John was the only cast member to appear in the first-ever scene. Comedian George Carlin hosted the show in a 3-piece suit and T-shirt. Paranoid that Carlin would say something "not approved for TV," studio execs implemented a 6 second delay on the otherwise live broadcast. The new show was well received, with Chevy Chase garnering praise for his "Weekend Update" segment.

Although pleased with the first show, John not pleased with his minimal air time. The open had been his only good role. But there was no time to dwell on disappointments as work immediately began on the next show.

The subsequent week, host Paul Simon performed with his old partner, Art Garfunkel, in an historic reunion. John was happy with the high profile guests, but unhappy that the Not Ready for Prime Time Players were taking backseat to the guests, of which there were several. Aside from Simon and Garfunkel, Randy Newman and Phoebe Snow also each performed songs. To add to that, there were also two pre-recorded videos aired: one a lengthly Albert Brooks “short” and another in which Paul Simon played basketball with Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins. To add insult to injury, the only cast performance was a short scene in which they dressed as bees. This was a follow-up to a bee sketch from the first show, which had fallen flat at best. There wasn’t much to the scene, it largely played off the visual of dressing cast-members in a funny looking costume. John was upset. He considered it demeaning to have to wear a costume to get laughs, and bringing the bees on a second time was no better than the first. He believed the heart and foundation of the show would be the sketch comedy and he wanted a chance to prove it. He wanted writing with substance, and he let his opinion be known.

As is often the way at SNL, the behind the scenes intrigue of the personalities found its way into the show. On the third episode, hosted by Rob Reiner, the bees made another appearance. In this version, Reiner gets upset because the bees are ruining his scene. While the cast stands by dejectedly, John steps up and defends them. “We’re sorry, Mr. Reiner... but you see, you’ve got Norman Lear and a first rate writing staff - but this is all they came up with for us.” After a “sad clown” apology, John withdraws himself, but after a moment’s reconsideration, comes back to tell Reiner off. “You think we like this?... We’re just like you were 5 years ago, Mr. Hollywood California number-one-show big shot!...” The thing that no one could have predicted was the way John maneuvered the bee antenna as he spoke, only adding to the visual silliness. Rob Reiner’s subtle but humored reaction to the antenna was also priceless. After a short but thorough dressing down, John triumphantly and proudly leads the bees off stage. The audience roared with laughter and whether John liked it or not, he had just cemented the bees as the first SNL characters of note.

The third show also gave John another opportunity to deliver his own brand of humor. Thanks to a request from the host, who had seen John perform in Lemmings, John debuted his Joe Cocker impression. Mimicking Cocker’s gravely vocal stylings and erratic body language, John twisted and contorted his body in ways never seen before; he spun and fell to the floor, emptied a beer down his throat, spit it several feet in the air, then unexplainably turned into a human see-saw as he struggled to stand up. As many times as Lorne had seen this in rehearsals he was still floored by the performance. To say the least, John nailed it!

John's Samurai skit debuted on December 13, 1975, with a little help from Richard Pryor. The two appeared as dueling samurai, and the character immediately became an audience favorite. John would go on to play many hilarious characters from Beethoven to the Greek restaurant owner to Star Trek’s Captain Kirk.

As the show progressed, John and Dan’s friendship grew and soon they were best friends and partners. With the idea of the Blues Brothers brewing in the back of their minds, they felt it was time they introduced music into the mix. They came up with an idea that would give them the opportunity to play and sing and blow the bees out of the water.

On January 17, 1976, John and Dan again donned the bee costumes, but this time, with an attitude: John wore a pair of yellow aviator glasses and sassily chewed gum while Dan added a pork pie hats and sunglasses to his accoutrements. With The SNL All Bee Band backing them, including Danny on harp, John grabbed the mike and sang those now famous words, "I'm a king bee, babe, want you to be my queen...”

A little over two years later, on April 22, 1978, Jake and Elwood were introduced as the musical guest by soon-to-be Blues Brothers Band leader Paul Shaffer, with this fictional history: "In 1969, Marshal Checker of the legendary Checker's Records, called me on a new blues act that had been playing in the small, funky clubs on Chicago's South Side...Today...they are no longer an authentic blues act, but have managed to become a viable commercial product. Let's join Joliet Jake and his silent brother Elwood – the Blues Brothers." John and Dan took on the characters of Jake and Elwood Blues and performed "Hey Bartender" and “Sweet Home Chicago” The Blues Brothers were born.

John remained a part of SNL until September of 1979. After four seasons and 87 shows, both he and Aykroyd decided that they were ready to move on to other things, which just happened to be the Blues Brothers movie.

In the summer of 1977, a young director named John Landis first met Belushi. Landis had just finished up his first film, The Kentucky Fried Movie , a low-budget satire of other films and TV. Landis wanted John to play the part of Bluto Blutarsky in National Lampoon's Animal House , and he had already sent John a script.

The movie was about a naughtyboy fraternity, the Delta "Animal House," which had waged a war against taste, sobriety, society, grades, the dean, women, and just about everything else! Universal Studios had issued Landis an ultimatum:  Get Belushi to play Bluto or there would be no movie.

John agreed to do the movie and signed a contract for $35,000, not bad considering he had no real film experience. There was originally a part for John's bud, Dan Aykroyd, to play "D-Day", a motorcycle-riding fanatic, and John really wanted him to take that role.

But while waiting for filming to begin, John signed a contract to do Goin' South , directed by and starring Jack Nicholson.

John Landis set out to find a college campus to begin filming, since they couldn't afford an expensive Hollywood set. After over 50 colleges had turned them down, The University of Oregon at Eugene finally gave them permission. To stay within budget, they had just 30 days to finish on-location shooting, which meant 6 day work weeks for the cast and crew.

Landis wanted John to use his facial expressions to full effect; he even cut lines from John so that he would have to rely upon his physical comedy even more. Landis quickly realized that when John entered a scene he took it over, and he began adjusting the movie around Bluto's exits and entrances. John played the role of Bluto to perfection, and Animal House was about to launch John into superstardom.

The movie premiered on July 28, 1978, and went on to become the highest grossing comedy of its time. That year, John had a #1 movie, a #1 TV show, and a #1 record with Briefcase Full of Blues from the Blues Brothers.

Dan and John spent one afternoon on the beach talking and the subject of their deaths came up. It was one of those conversations that good friends have sometimes. They were listening to a song by the Ventures called, "The 2000 Pound Bee." The song was full of hard sounding guitars and it was the kind of music that was popular in the 60s, with just a touch of punk.

Aykroyd had one favor to ask of John:  "You got to promise me something," Aykroyd said. "If I die before you do, you have to play this tape at my funeral....because it's..." Dan laughs..."Wouldn't it be great to lay this noisy, heavy tape on a church full of people!"

"Sure," John replied, "and you do the same for me." He was serious.

"Absolutely," Aykroyd promised. "Absolutely."

John loved the night life. He loved to party, to be wild, and to make people laugh. The late 1970s and early 1980s was filled with drug use in Hollywood. Drugs were everywhere you looked. The producers, the directors, and the other actors all seemed to be using them. John was no exception.

March 5, 1982.

It was just another night for John; he was in Bungalow #3 at the Chateau Marmont with some friends working on a movie script when he decided he wanted something to take him further than he had ever been before. Later that night, Cathy Smith injected him with a speed ball, and the mixing of heroin and cocaine had a cumulative effect on John's brain, slowing down his breathing and finally causing complete respiratory failure.

On Tuesday, March 9, 1982, John was buried in Abel's Hill Cemetery on Martha's Vineyard. Dan Aykroyd, wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans, led the funeral procession to the cemetery on his motorcycle. As the snow began to fall, James Taylor sang "That Lonesome Road."

On March 11, 1982, about 1,000 of John's family and friends attended a memorial service in New York at the Cathedral of Saint John Divine. As promised, Aykroyd took out a tape player, held it to the microphone and played "The 2000 Pound Bee."

The mourners were stunned at first, but then began to laugh.

FILMOGRAPHY

PHOTO GALLERY

Foooooooood Fight!

Mission from God.

Cheeburger! Cheeburger!

WEST HEAVEN

A tribute to John

How John Belushi Rose From Second City to ‘SNL’ to Stardom

By Cynthia Littleton

Cynthia Littleton

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John Belushi ‘s kinetic energy and skill at physical comedy made him a larger than life performer during his short run as a superstar on “Saturday Night Live” and in movies such as 1978’s “Animal House” and 1980’s “The Blues Brothers.”

But Belushi’s work off-camera as a writer and director, from his earliest days in the Second City improv troupe, was considerable. As the life of the comedian — who died of a drug overdose at age 33 in 1982 — is re-examined in the R.J. Cutler documentary “Belushi,” which premieres Nov. 22 on Showtime, here are highlights of Belushi’s story as chronicled by Variety .

The first reference to John Belushi came in the Nov. 17, 1971, edition of weekly Variety . He was singled out for praise in a generally positive review of the “Cum Granis Salis” show staged by Chicago’s legendary Second City. That famed ensemble would later contribute major players to the original “Saturday Night Live” cast, including Belushi and his longtime partner Dan Aykroyd, as well as Gilda Radner.

“John Belushi, who made his bow in the previous show, comes off extremely well, especially when he is in a situation where he can go the deadpan or mugging route. He has a naturally comedic map and understands how to use it effectively,” Variety ‘s critic observed.

Popular on Variety

Three years later, Belushi was at the helm as Second City expanded its reach to Long Island. Belushi directed and co-starred in a revue staged at Long Island nitery My Father’s Place. The cast is a who’s who of future boldface names: Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Joe O’Flaherty and Brian Doyle-Murray.

After “SNL” arrived in 1975, Lorne Michaels and the Not Ready for Primetime Players kept busy doing “SNL” as well as numerous primetime TV specials. They even had them doing a little vaudeville revue to celebrate NBC’s 50th anniversary. In 1976, weekly Variety reported that “SNL” aired its first-ever rerun on March 20 of that year because the whole cast and Lorne Michaels were too busy earlier in the week doing the NBC anniversary live presentation for an International Radio and TV Society event in New York. The show, written by Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and produced by Michaels, was described as an “ occasionally mocking postprandial romp” through NBC’s history.

Later in America’s bicentennial year, the “SNL” team — including director Gary Weis, scribe Alan Zweibel, Belushi, Aykroyd and Michaels — produced an hourlong Beach Boys TV special that mixed musical sequences with such bits as having the California Highway Patrol order Brian Wilson to leave his bed (this being the era when the celebrated musician was famously reclusive and rotund).

In February 1977, team “SNL” delivered a live primetime special that seemingly should have become an annual franchise. Variety ‘s review of “Live From the Mardi Gras, It’s Saturday Night on Sunday” makes the 90-minute special sound as good as you’d want it to be. The production credits alone (see below) are enough to make comedy aficionados swoon.

“When a live show clicks along with professional skill backed by some careful preparation, it takes on a dimension that slick, taped variety rarely has,” Variety ‘s critic wrote. “With very few technical hitches, this one moved from concert hall to various N.O. locations, and the comedy when it got there was often very good. Especially John Belushi from a ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ location, Gilda Radner and guest Henry Winkler in a working over of the former’s w.k. (and possibly a little cruel) Baba Wawa routine, guest Eric Idle (‘Monty Python’) doing a remote turn on Mardi Gras revelry from a barren restaurant and Dan Ackroyd as NBC’s own Tom Snyder interviewing the personnel of a French Quarter topless-bottomless bar.”

Belushi made his big screen debut with Jack Nicholson in 1978’s “Goin’ South.” But he became a movie star the same year with the success of “National Lampoon’s Animal House.” His starring role in the “college comedy” merited only a brief mention in the Oct. 21, 1977, edition of Daily Variety .

As “Animal House” rocked the box office in the summer of 1978, Belushi and Aykroyd were busy on stage refining the characters for their next big screen outing. Fans of the Blues Brothers can only dream of traveling back in time to September 1978 to see Jake and Elwood open for Steve Martin at the Universal Amphitheatre. The sold-out Sept. 9-17 run was saluted around that time in a two-page Daily Variety ad with a caricature of the trio.

In the years that followed, Belushi’s career continued to soar. By many accounts, the whirlwind of fame and fortune intensified the multi-hyphenate’s struggle with substance abuse in the months before his death on March 5, 1982. At the time, Variety would later report, Belushi and Aykroyd were talking with director Louis Malle and playwright John Guare about a political satire inspired by the Abscam political corruption scandal. That’s just one example of what might have been for Belushi.

As Variety noted in its obituary, Belushi was “outrageous, endlessly energetic, quick to take on a dare and gifted with outstanding mimetic abilities and surprising physical grace, Belushi scored in every area of show business he tried — theatre, radio, tv, music and films.”

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