Comedian John Belushi dead at 33
Actor John Belushi appears at the opening night party for “Animal House” at the Village Gate in New York on July 27, 1978. Belushi died March 5, 1982, at 33 after overdosing at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)
John Belushi, the beefy comedian who played a manic Samurai warrior on TV’s original “Saturday Night Live” and a slobby fraternity brother in the movie “Animal House,” apparently choked to death, says a security guard who saw the body.
Belushi’s nude body was found about 12:15 p.m. Friday in bed in a $200-a-day bungalow the 33-year-old actor rented behind the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Strip. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi said an autopsy would be performed today, but Los Angeles police Lt. Dan Cooke said there was no immediate indication of foul play.
“It appears to be death by natural causes,” Cooke told reporters outside the bungalow. “The detectives have found nothing to make it seem suspicious in any way.”
Belushi’s physical trainer, William Wallace, found the body after Belushi had been dead for two or three hours, Cooke said.
“He tried to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and the paramedics were called,” Cooke said.
Bruce Beckler, a hotel gardener and day security guard, said he went into the bungalow with Wallace and saw Belushi lying on the bed with his head on a pillow. Belushi appeared to have choked on food and had swallowed his tongue, Beckler said.
“I’ve never closed somebody’s eyes before, but I did it this time,” Beckler said. “I wanted to bring the man back.”
Hotel officials said they delivered food to Belushi’s room about 8 a.m.
Beckler said the hotel desk manager became concerned Friday morning because Belushi didn’t answer his phone.
“We knew he was in his room because he checks out with the desk if he leaves. We suspected something was wrong,” Beckler said.
Detectives detained a dark-haired, heavyset woman who returned to the bungalow in Belushi’s car about 2:15 p.m. The woman, identified only as a 34-year-old worker in the entertainment industry, was taken from the scene in handcuffs but was released after questioning.
“She woke him up this morning about 8 a.m.,” Cooke said. “He was breathing with difficulty from some nasal congestion. She asked if he was all right and he said yes. She gave him a glass of water and he went back to sleep. She went into the living room and, assuming he was asleep, went out about an hour later.
“Detectives are satisfied that there is no criminal involvement on her part and she is being released,” Cooke said. “She is quite distraught. She didn’t want to talk to reporters.”
Belushi, who lived in New York City, checked into the hotel last Sunday. He was in Los Angeles for a Paramount movie, “Noble Rot,” a comedy about the wine industry.
A Chicago native who appeared with the Second City improvisational group and later in the National Lampoon production of “Lemmings” on Broadway, Belushi was an immediate hit when “Saturday Night Live” debuted in 1975. He was one of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players,” along with Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner.
“I hired him,” SNL producer Lorne Michaels once recalled, “because he walked into my office and started to abuse me. He said, ‘I can’t stand television,’ and that was just the kind of abuse I wanted to hear.” Belushi last appeared on SNL in 1979.
Belushi starred in “Animal House” and the less successful “1941,” “Continental Divide,” and the recent hit “Neighbors.”
“He was one of the most intrinsically funny men I have ever known,” Chase said in Los Angeles. “I count myself lucky to have known him. We will all miss him.”
Belushi’s brother, James, appeared sad but composed after appearing in “The Pirates of Penzance” at Chicago’s Shubert Theater Friday night. “He was dedicated to his work,” the 27-year-old entertainer said of his brother. “He frequently gave me advice … He said go on stage like a bull in a bull ring.”
Although Belushi’s frenzied style of humor seemed spontaneous, a strategy lurked behind the slobs and simpletons he portrayed.
“My characters say it’s okay to screw up,” he said in a recent interview. “People don’t have to be perfect. They don’t have to be real smart. They don’t have to follow rules. They can have fun.
“Most movies today make people feel inadequate,” he said. “I don’t do that.”
Belushi and Aykroyd teamed up in “The Blues Brothers,” a movie based on the antics of a pair of soul singers introduced on SNL. The two comics invented the soul-singing duo of Jake and Elwood Blues, who wore cheap black suits, black hats and black sunglasses. The bit also was the basis for a record album, “Briefcase Full of Blues.”
Belushi also appeared in the movies “Goin’ South” with Jack Nicholson and “Old Boyfriends” with Talia Shire.
Belushi was born in Chicago on Jan. 24, 1949, the child of Albanian immigrants. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, where he was captain of the high school football team and participated in wrestling, baseball, track and music. He was a drummer in the school band and homecoming king in 1967, and a continual clown.
Belushi is survived by his wife, Judith, the high school sweetheart he married in 1967, his parents and two brothers.
