March 2nd, 2012
03:39 PM ET
Aykroyd opens up on 30th anniversary of John Belushi's deathOn March 5, 1982, comic great John Belushi died at 33 of an overdose, and the late star's friend and colleague, Dan Aykroyd, is opening up about what could've been. Had Belushi lived, Aykroyd tells "Showbiz Tonight" in an exclusive interview, “He would be directing plays and musicals. He would be one of the premier directors on Broadway." The actor continues, "that would have been his destiny, because he was so intelligent and so well referenced there. He was more of an academic than the 'Bluto' image would have you believe.”
And although cocaine and heroin had a role in his death, Aykroyd says that during "the last summer of his life, not a powder nor a pill did he touch. Nothing. Just smoked a little bud, that was it. And wine and beer and food, you know. If he'd been a pot head he'd be alive today. ‘Cause that doesn't kill ya." Catch the full interview on "Showbiz Tonight" on HLN at 11 p.m. ET/PT Monday.
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everyone knows
if youre FAT
DONT
DO
COKE
all the fat guys DIE when they coke it up
Saw his son in a Pilot taping of an improv type skit show (think SNL and Mad TV Smashup) and it's evident that his comedic spirit lives on in his children. We may have lost a great one 30 years ago, but his legend continues. That's the true test of genius.
Probably better for his legacy that he died when he did.
Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy......all horrible now, just kind of fumblefookin' around.
Funny, funny guy, but at least we didn't have to watch a decline like all these other SNL guys, his decline was his peak.
Early death makes heroes out of marginal people, Buddy Holly. James Dean, Curt Cobain, Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin, Lennon,Elvis, Jesus.
You can't be addicted to pot, there has NEVER in the. History of the world been an overdose from pot. Pot is as dangerous as crossing the street. Not even close to the dangers of cigarettes or booze. And it's bull@&$ if you say that pot has more chemicals when smoked, cigarettes have 400 chemicals mixed in with it and when smoked these chemical change into 40,000 different new carcinogens and chemicals that you inhale. Pot has about 35 diffferent chemicals naturally in it and when smoked these done even come close to the amount of cigs, it turns into about 578 according to health Canada. Yes pot is more dangerous then breathing air or not smoking at all, but sitting in a traffic jam in LA exposes you to around 23000 different pollutants carcinogens. Ill take my chances with pot then a car. Don't believe the bs u have read about pot. As we can see everything that was written about it the past has not come to fruition. Booze and cigs kill pot doesn't
Ya, right. 'Cause that whole speedball thing (that killed him), that's ALWAYS done just on a lark, right out of the blue, right? Bull.
First concert I ever saw was the Blues Brothers at the Universal Amphitheater...awesome show, you guys killed it, and left me with some awesome memories...RIP JB
It was a different time, that's for sure.
He had the ability to be funny without being profane, a talent rarely seen in comedy today.
Wow! I love the plug about smoking pot. Of the whole article they had to make sure that got in there. That's the tease? That's the part that's going to make me listen to Dan's revisionist history of the situation. You can pretend that John was going to do a lot of things, why not be the President? The fact is DRUGS, booze, and no one around (uh-ho Dan) to tell John to stop! Why not? Because maybe his friends were doing the same thing...and they got lucky.
There is no Uh-oh, Vumba. What happened to John Belushi slammed the brakes on many a celebrity as well as regular people at that time. Ackroyd said so at that time and many times since then.
'The only thing new in the world is the history they don't know.'
Read a book. Belushi's death likely saved hundreds of lives. It's no big secret.
People, places and things.
Odd that I can clearly remember exactly what I was doing when I heard on the radio that John Belushi had died-my friend, then 2 1/2 yr. old daughter and I had been to Disneyland that day, and on the way home, we heard the news. My friend and I were shocked, being huge fans of SNL, "Bluto", "The Blues Brothers", even "1941". Such a waste and loss of talent and rare comedic gifts.
A newlywed, I was a guest of a friend on a yacht, THE BLACK GOLD. Sitting on the fantail, I was being served breakfast. The newspaper read, JOHN BELUSHI FOUND DEAD OF OVERDOSE. I can still remember my shock and surprise, sitting there in the sunshine. It put a pall on the trip. He was far too young to die for no good reason. We've so needed his humour over all the stupid years.
Wonder what he'd say about things now?
Why does CNN keep "celebrating" and apologizing for drug/booze addict entertainers that commit suicide ? CNN sounds like the catholic church and their pedopriests.
I am interested in your examples on how CNN and the Catholic Church are doing the same thing. Please provide...
lou: how is CNN apologizing?
Maybe you should change your name to LouAss...
Point out the apology to me in the article. I'm curious as to where it appears. Kindly post a quote; I'd like to read it, please.
Your issues are showing, LouAz. You might want to tuck them back there.
It sounds like Danny takes a few puffs himself. But he's right. I've never heard of anyone ODing on it. Not something that I care to do, but there are much worse vices.
Can't believe it's been 30 years. We lost so much when we lost Belushi. Imagine him in one of those Ace Ventura movies or co-starring with Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler.
John was on a mission from God (Blues Brothers movie). How sad that he was not able to complete it.
Cheezburgah, cheezburgah, cheezburgah....Pepsi, Pepsi Pepsi. I love this man, amazing talent.
John Belushi could have given us so much more, but Nooooooooo!!!!
I was only 12 when he died, but I remember feeling very sad when I heard the news. Animal House is one of my all time favorite movies and I loved watching him on SNL. It was a tragedy for him to die so young, even if it was at his own hand.
Whoopedif******doda
Belushi was a genius, we lost a lot when we lost him.
Agreed. What a shame.
Damn drugs....They take away so many before their time... Cigarettes, booze, pot, coke, meth....etc... They will all kill you. Live your life with a free and clear mind.
This just in......
John Belushi still dead.
I liked Akroyd better than Belushi.
Wow, SO many people who comment here mistake opinion for thought.
Aykroyd 'opens up' CNN? A few words about Broadway? I was expecting to read something worthwhile. Even Belushi is laughing at how stupid this article is and then he stopped and said "What's CNN?"
Shame on you Dan. Other people knew Belushi during that "last summer" as well. He was every bit into speedball during that time-frame and the period leading up to his overdose. We still carry the torch for him, but don't try to make him angelic for it was his tendency to color outside the lines that brought him fame and admiration. He lived and died a trailblazer. We honor him for who he was, not who you would have us believe.
Trailblazer? Yeah, 'Continental Divide' and 'Neighbors' really set the world on fire – being the worst movies ever. I am a huge fan, but not everything Belushi touched turned to gold.
Its hard to morn someone, when its their very own stupidity that ended their life. Belushi quite willingly took the illegal drugs that ended his left. And Aykroyd didn't care enough at the time to intervene.
You talk of stupidity, yet you are unable to properly spell "mourn", then you begin a sentence with "and".
The irony of you calling someone else stupid is rich.
You obviously don't get it. Being an addict is not a choice. When you are one your body chemistry demands that in order to survive you have to take................Oh what's the point you are an idiot and being one is a capital crime.
Who are we to judge the actions of Belushi? It's so much easier to sit back and wag our finger at someone else, as if we've never made any mistakes of our own. You speak of the situation as if you were there - as if you knew them personally and exactly what intervention efforts were made by his friends. Unless you did, I doubt you have any room to offer such a black and white opinion.
@Jimmy Joe.
It's perfectly acceptable to start a sentience with "And" or "But." It's just really easy to wear out that structure.
Aside from that, you are right. Dude's a fool.
Jimmy Joe Jim Bob; beginning a sentence with "and" is perfectly acceptable grammar. You didn't pick up on Belushi "ended his left" although that was probably just a typo. "Morn" may have been a typo as well. Grammar/spelling lesson is over, unless of course I made my own mistakes. Nevertheless the article is about John Belushi. RIP John your humor will never be forgotten!
josh: most people end their lives through their stupidity. some just make it more obvious
Well, now. Since you make such a claim, how was Dan Ackroyd to do anything from thousands of miles away where he was making a film? When he last saw and spoke to John Belushi, he was fine.
Where were you? Why didn't you do something about it? Why didn't YOU save him? Oh, right, you weren't born yet, were you?
The man was pure comedy. All he had to do was move an eye brow.
What does that make Jim Carry then? In a couple of his movies, he talked out of his ass hole.
John is missed. His shoes can never be filled. A comedic genius taken too soon.
Its sad that some of our brightest young talent does so many stupid things to end their lives. They may have been very smart and talented people. But they seemed to have never been able to realize how they were hurting themselves.
Belushi was a drug addict. That is how they go. Cathy Smith shot him up with a speedball and he died. Drugs are dangerous. He took his chances. He wasted the rest of his life.
Thankyou Woodrow for cutting through all the BS about Belushi and you can also add Farley into the equation.
Sorry Danny Boy, pot used on a consistent basis will lead the user to more heavy drug use...so in essense it WILL kill you. John had a problem neither you or I could understand, and he would have
okay, you know that the whole gateway-drug message was just propaganda put out to ban marijuana, right? there are no studies that actually establish it as any kind of gateway.
if it is other drugs that kill someone, why are you blaming pot?
if you want to play the correlation-not-causation game, if people generally have alcohol and/or tobacco before they have pot, would they not responsible for the later deaths that yo blame pot for?
Oy. You really are a fool, aren't you?
You do well with "arrogance" but not so well on "facts."
Pot is a gateway to other drugs like chocolate is gateway to obesity or coffee is a gateway to alcoholism.
The only reason pot is a "gateway" drug is because people realize how harmless it is, and yet it's 100% illegal – moreso than even cocaine (numbing agent) or opiates (painkillers). "If it's so harmless, maybe some of the other illegal drugs are harmless too."
If the government would draw the line between legal and illegal to match the line between mostly harmless and will mess up your life, I think there would be fewer people take up the harder drugs.
Marijuana is not lethal, but it is foolish to believe that chronic pot smoking has no ill effects. It CAN be addictive, it CAN have a debilitating effect on a person's will and drives, it CAN dull the senses, and it CAN numb a person's emotions when they should likely be fully experienced. Yes pot should be legal, and though it is not in a class with heroin, cocaine, or many pharmaceuticals, it is far from harmless.
Breathing through the nose leads to cocaine addiction and, eventually, death. True story bro
xactomundo: i don't know that anyone is claiming it is harmless
The ultimate gateway drug is... wait for it... alcohol. But, since that's legal, society has to deflect that fact onto something else. Why not marijuana, or maybe smoking banana peels. Definitely not tobacco (see legal exclusion above).
John Belushi was incredibly funny, as was Phil Hartman. Please don't put Farley along side them, he wasn't anywhere near their level of genius.
Farley ABSOLUTELY is one of the greats!! He made me laugh WAY more than your mom giving birth to you...THAT actually goes in the HORROR section.
Enigma is right, Farley was funny in that fat goof kinda way. Outside of that he really wasnt anything spectacular at all. Hartman and Belushi were comic genius,
Belushi wasn't funny. Sorry, he just wasn't. Now Farley and Hartman were funny.
And yes too much marijuana will kill. Just like drinking too much water will kill and breathing too much oxygen will kill. Too much of anything will kill.
yes, too much marijuana will kill.
fortunately, researchers have determined the fatal dosage of marijuana.
it turns out that a fatal dosage is a 50 lb bale
dropped from a 5th story window
Sounds like you spend too much time jacking off, and not enough researching the lies other people tell you.
LOLOLOLOL 'Fatal dose of marijuana' I'm STILL laughing!!! READ A BOOK instead of believing everything you hear numbnuts!!
What are you–12?
Ignorance will kill you, but not fast enough for my liking. If it did, you'd be dead already.
Wow. You pot smokers are a vicious lot! You want someone to die because they don't agree with you? Pot may not kill, but it apparently makes folks into vicious, hateful and insulting creatures.
Well put amused!!! How dare anyone challenge the benefits one gets from smoking pot or even hint it is dangerous. It is a wonder drug where no bad can come. After all, it is natural, just like opium.
Constance: You like it? Steal it, I did.
vad: dangerous? in what sense?
NAAA Ya got it all wrong. Only Republicans a vicious
Rick. I will respond because you asked in a mature respectful way encouraging positive dialogue. Marijuana can cause structural and functional deficits on the brain. Especially a developing brain. (see jimmy joe jim bob) It is also not great for your lungs as it contains more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco. I am not saying it is the most dangerous drug out there or even that it should be illegal, but there is a price to pay for the high.
Well why don't you start smoking pounds dude
vad: thank you for the respectful answer. i do not doubt that there is a price to pay. however, "danger" is a relative term. is it worse than nothing? probably so. is it less "dangerous" than any other external recreational drug out there? seems that way to me. i say external because i am an adrenaline junkie, and i definitely get a high from my activities.
Too much Marijuana will kill???
Please...
I've never even smoked pot myself (only because it's illegal, no moral thoughts about it), but even I know that's crap. It's not GOOD for you, the carcinagins alone are harmful, but it won't kill you... Get a life and stop trying to spread to others your moral propaganda that's BS.
jesse: this is not a moral judgement. this is simply a response to the statement that "too much (fill in the blank) will kill you". that seems like an obvious statement on the face of it. the question is what is that amount?
This Just In: The Universe does NOT revolve around you, JackingYouOff.
RIP, right along with Hartman, Farley..... These guys were comedic gods and went way to soon....
who knows what they would have gone on to? maybe good, maybe crap. i don't know. perhaps early death just deifed them
The world really missed out on the thirty of years of entertainment that this man wasn't able to give us. I wonder how many wonderful movies they would have made together.
RIP junkie
wow, very clever
Is that the best you could come up with? Ironically, he still had more success than you EVER will – and that's even WITH the drugs
Who is Imus?
Yeah, Mark. And he's still just a dead junkie. Glorifying him means nothing.
@mark – so does your comment. Nothing. Your'e a nobody. Go back to sleep.
Correction...that was directed at Kevin.
The Blues Brothers is one of my top ten favorite movies-and the characters John Belushi created for SNL like the killer bees and the samurai-brilliant!! My favorite skit with him had him portraying Beethoven trying to compose The Moonlight Sonata with him at the end acting like Ray Charles singing What'd I Say. Such a talented comedian-gone too soon. I still miss him.
Samuri Tailor. Funniest skit of all time. Not because it may have had you rolling on the floor the first time you saw, but because everytime you think of it, you'll chuckle. "Well... it is my wedding night"
ann: great skit.
Thanks for the fond memories...he was a truely brilliant comedian. He has left a legacy that will live on for a very, very long time.
For the record, Belushi HATED the Killer Bee skits. And I like to think "Continental Divide" with Blair Brown was closer to the real John than "Animal House" was. Either way, he went too soon.
Buck Henry – 'nice suit, but you forgot to put a zipper in...' Samurai Taylor, raising sword, as Buck leans back and turns head to the side – 'AEYAHHH'...
Blair Brown – who wouldn't want to get close to her!
33 is just way too young to die. What a shame, sounds like he missed out on a bright future.