James Adam Belushi[1] (/bəˈlʃi/; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. His television roles include the title role in According to Jim (2001–2009), Saturday Night Live (1983–1985), and Twin Peaks (2017).

Jim Belushi
Belushi in 2015
Born
James Adam Belushi

(1954-06-15) June 15, 1954 (age 69)
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Albania
EducationCollege of DuPage (attended)
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • musician
Years active1977–present
Spouses
Sandra Davenport
(m. 1980; div. 1988)
(m. 1990; div. 1992)
Jennifer Sloan
(m. 1998)
Children3, including Robert Belushi
RelativesJohn Belushi (brother)
Websitebelushisfarm.com

Belushi appeared in films such as Thief (1981), Salvador (1986), About Last Night (1986), Red Heat (1988), K-9 (1989), Jingle All the Way (1996), Hoodwinked! (2005), The Wild (2006), Underdog (2007) and Sollers Point (2017).

He is the younger brother of late comedy actor John Belushi and the father of actor Robert Belushi.

Early life edit

Belushi was born June 15, 1954, in Wheaton, Illinois,[1] to Adam Anastos Belushi, an Albanian from Qytezë, Korçë,[2] and Agnes Demetri Belushi, who was born in Ohio to Albanian immigrants from Korçë.[2] He was raised in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb, along with his three siblings: older brother John (1949–1982), older sister Marian, and younger brother Billy.[3][4][5] After graduating from Wheaton Central High School in 1972, Jim Belushi attended the College of DuPage, and graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a bachelor's degree in Speech and Theater Arts in 1978.[6]

Career edit

 
Belushi at the 39th Venice International Film Festival in 1982

From 1977 to 1980, Belushi, like his older brother John, worked with the Chicago theater group The Second City. During this period, Belushi made his television debut in 1978's Who's Watching the Kids and also had a small part in Brian De Palma's The Fury. His first significant role was in Michael Mann's Thief (1981). After John's death, from 1983 to 1985 he appeared on Saturday Night Live; he portrayed characters such as Hank Rippy from "Hello, Trudy!", Man on the Street Jesse Donnelly, and "That White Guy". Belushi also appeared in the film Trading Places as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party. He made a guest appearance in Faerie Tale Theatre's third-season episode "Pinocchio", starring Paul Reubens as the titular puppet.

Belushi rose to greater prominence with his supporting roles in The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), About Last Night..., Salvador, and Little Shop of Horrors (as Patrick Martin) (all 1986), which opened up opportunities for lead roles. He has starred in films including Real Men, The Principal, Red Heat, Homer and Eddie, K-9, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, Dimenticare Palermo, Taking Care of Business, Mr. Destiny, Only the Lonely, Curly Sue, Once upon a Crime, Wild Palms, Race the Sun, Jingle All the Way, Separate Lives, Retroactive, Gang Related, Angel's Dance and Joe Somebody.

His voice work includes The Mighty Ducks, The Pebble and the Penguin, Babes in Toy land, Gargoyles and Hey Arnold!, and Hoodwinked, Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King and The Wild. He also lent his vocal talents for 9: The Last Resort (a PC game released in 1995), in which he portrayed "Salty", a coarse yet helpful character. In 1997, he portrayed the "Masked Mutant" in the Goosebumps PC video game, alongside Adam West as "The Galloping Gazelle". On January 4, 2001, Belushi appeared on the ER episode "Piece of Mind". The episode focused both on Dr. Mark Greene's life-or-death brain surgery in New York and on Belushi's character, who had been in a car accident with his son in Chicago. Belushi's performance contributed to his re-emergence in the public eye, and the following year he was cast as the title role in ABC's According to Jim.[7]

His first animation voice-over was as a pimple on Krumm's head in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters on Nickelodeon. That performance led him to be cast in the recurring role as Simon the Monster Hunter in that series, where he ad-libbed much of his dialogue.

 
Belushi in House of Blues in Houston, 2008

In 2003, Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released the album Have Love, Will Travel, and participated in an accompanying tour. The concert was made available on video on demand by Bob Gold & Associates.[8][9] He also performs at various venues nationwide as Zee Blues in an updated version of The Blues Brothers. He released his first book, Real Men Don't Apologize, in May 2006. Belushi was a narrator of an NFL offensive linemen commercial. Belushi also introduced the starting lineups for the University of Illinois football team during ABC's telecast of the 2008 Rose Bowl.

He appeared in MC Hammer's video "Too Legit to Quit" in 1991 (in the extended full-length version). He also hosted a celebration rally for the Chicago Cubs playoff series in Chicago prior to the 2008 World Series. Steve Dahl has dubbed him "The Funniest Living Belushi".

In 2010, Belushi was cast in a pilot for CBS called The Defenders, a series about defense lawyers.[10] The one-hour series premiered on September 22, 2010.[11] In two episodes in 2011, Belushi was paired with Blues Brothers partner Dan Aykroyd.[12][13] On May 15, 2011, The Defenders was canceled by CBS.[14] In 2011, he was cast as corrupt businessman Harry Brock in Born Yesterday, which opened on Broadway in late April.[15]

In August 2020, Belushi started a Discovery Channel series about his life at his cannabis farm in Oregon, called Growing Belushi.[16]

In August 2022, Belushi appeared as Brother Zee, with Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers Band, at the first Blues Brothers Con event held at Old Joliet Prison. The two day festival also featured a screening of the film and performances from Mondo Cortez & The Chicago Blues Angels, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames.[17][18][19]

Personal life edit

Belushi has been married three times. On May 17, 1980, he married Sandra Davenport, who gave birth to their son, Robert James, on October 23, 1980. Belushi and Davenport divorced in 1988.[20] Belushi was married to actress Marjorie Bransfield from 1990 to 1992.[20] He married Jennifer Sloan on May 2, 1998; the couple has a daughter and a son.[21] On March 5, 2018, Jennifer Sloan filed for divorce from Belushi.[21][22] The two have since reconciled.[23]

Belushi is closely linked to his Albanian heritage and received honorary Albanian citizenship, as well as the "Honor of the Nation" Decoration from the President of Albania, Bamir Topi, in 2008.[24][25] He is Eastern Orthodox Christian, visiting with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2010.[26] Belushi is an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Fire.[27]

Belushi had a legal battle and publicized feud with his neighbor, actress Julie Newmar. She claimed their conflicts stemmed from Belushi's attempt to "build a second house in the back", which she claimed was illegal in their R-1 neighborhood, since there can be only one house per lot. In 2004, Belushi filed a $4 million lawsuit against Newmar, alleging "she harassed and defamed him". He also claimed she destroyed his fence, which Newmar denied. They ended the feud amicably in 2006, when Belushi invited Newmar to guest-star on According to Jim on an episode which satirized their conflict.[28]

In 2011, Belushi announced he was suffering from gout, and became a spokesman for Savient Pharmaceuticals' educational campaign "Check Out Your Gout".[29][30] He appeared on the cover of and was interviewed by Cigar Aficionado magazine.[31]

Belushi endorsed the re-election campaign of Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012. On a Fox News interview, he explained "When you talk to the President in private, he's a cool guy, who knows what he's doing. Besides, I'm from Chicago too."[32]

Belushi built a getaway home in Eagle Point, Oregon in 2015[33] where he now grows cannabis.[34][35] By 2018, the size of his Eagle Point property had been expanded to 93 acres (38 ha).[35] He is involved with fundraising for projects in Eagle Point and elsewhere in Southern Oregon, including the planned rebuilding of the Butte Creek Mill and the restoration of the Holly Theatre, in Medford. In 2018, he was living in Los Angeles "most of the time", The Oregonian reported,[35] and living in Oregon part of the year. Per a 2018 article, Belushi indicated he planned on opening a pop-up cannabis dispensary in downtown Portland.[35]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1978 The Fury Beach Bum
1980 The Cleansing Bobby Short
1981 Thief Barry
1983 Trading Places Harvey
1984 The Best Legs in the Eighth Grade Saint Valentine TV movie
1985 The Man with One Red Shoe Morris
1986 Salvador Dr. Rock
About Last Night... Bernie Litko
Jumpin' Jack Flash Sperry Repair Man
Little Shop of Horrors Patrick Martin
1987 The Principal Principal Rick Latimer
Real Men Nick Pirandello
1988 Red Heat Sergeant Art Ridzik
1989 Who's Harry Crumb? Man on Bus
K-9 Detective Michael Dooley
Homer and Eddie Homer Lanza
Wedding Band Reverend
1990 Dimenticare Palermo Carmine Bonavia
Taking Care of Business Jimmy Dworski
Masters of Menace 'Gypsy'
Mr. Destiny Larry Joseph Burrows
1991 Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe Principal Rick Latimer
Only the Lonely Officer Sal Buonarte
Diary of a Hitman Shandy
Curly Sue Bill Dancer
1992 Once Upon a Crime Neil Schwary
Traces of Red Jack Dobson
1993 Last Action Hero Himself
1994 Royce Shane Royce TV movie
Parallel Lives Nick Dimas TV movie
1995 The Pebble and the Penguin Rocko (voice)
Sahara Sergeant Joe Gunn TV movie
Destiny Turns on the Radio Tuerto
Canadian Bacon Charles Jackal
Separate Lives Tom Beckwith
1996 Race the Sun Frank Machi
Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off Phil Palmfeather (voice)
Jingle All the Way Mall Santa
1997 Retroactive Frank Lloyd
Living in Peril Harrison/Oliver
Gold in the Streets Mario
Dog's Best Friend Skippy (voice) TV movie
Bad Baby Cornelius Goode (voice)
Gang Related Detective Franklin "Frank" Divinci
Babes in Toyland Gonzargo (voice)
Wag the Dog Himself
1998 Overnight Delivery Overnight Delivery Boss Video
1999 Angel's Dance Stevie 'The Rose' Rosellini
The Florentine Billy Belasco
Justice Frank Spello TV movie
Made Men Bill 'The Mouth' Manucci
My Neighbors the Yamadas Takashi Yamada (voice)
The Nuttiest Nutcracker Reginald The Mouse King (voice) Video
K-911 Detective Michael Dooley Video
Hooves of Fire Santa Claus/Tapir (voice) TV movie
2000 Return to Me Joe Dayton
Who Killed Atlanta's Children? Pat Laughlin TV movie
2001 Joe Somebody Chuck Scarett
2002 Snow Dogs Demon (voice)
One Way Out Harry Wooltz Video
K-9: P.I. Detective Michael Dooley Video
Pinocchio The Farmer (voice)
Legend of the Lost Tribe Tapir/Little Magnus (voice)
2003 Easy Six Elvis
2004 DysEnchanted Doctor (The Shrink) Short
2005 Tugger: The Jeep 4x4 Who Wanted to Fly Tugger (voice) Video [36]
Hoodwinked! Kirk (voice)
2006 Behind the Smile Jeffrey Stone
The Wild Benny (voice)
Casper's Scare School Alder (voice) TV movie
Lolo's Cafe Frank (voice) Short
2007 Farce of the Penguins 'They're All Bitches' Penguin (voice) Video
Once Upon a Christmas Village Santa Claus (voice) Short
Underdog Dan Unger
2008 Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King Glob (voice) Video
Snow Buddies Saint Bernie (voice) Video
2010 The Ghost Writer John Maddox
2011 Cougars, Inc. Dan Fox
New Year's Eve Building Super
2012 Thunderstruck Coach Amross
2013 Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Lion (voice)
The Secret Lives of Dorks Bronko
2014 Stan Lee's Mighty 7 Mr. Cross (voice) TV movie
2015 Home Sweet Hell Les
2016 The Whole Truth Boone Lassiter
The Hollow Point Diaz
Undrafted Jim
Katie Says Goodbye 'Bear'
2017 A Change of Heart Hank
Sollers Point Carol
Wonder Wheel Humpty
Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie Coach Wittenberg (voice) TV movie [37]
2022 Gigi & Nate Dan Gibson

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1978–79 Who's Watching the Kids? Bert Gunkel Main Cast
1979 Working Stiffs Ernie O'Rourke Main Cast
1982 Laverne & Shirley 'Wheezer' Episode: "Of Mice and Men"
1983–85 Saturday Night Live Himself/Cast Member Main Cast: Season 9-10
1984 Faerie Tale Theatre Mario Episode: "Pinocchio"
1986 Cinemax Comedy Experiment Bob Episode: "Jim Belushi in Birthday Boy"
1993 Wild Palms Harry Wyckoff Main Cast
The Building Billy Shoe Episode: "Yakkity Yak Don't Talk"
1994–97 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Simon The Monster Hunter (voice) Recurring Cast
1995 Duckman Saul Monella/Police Officer (voice) Episode: "America the Beautiful"
Pinky and the Brain Additional Characters (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1
Santo Bugito Baby Face (voice) Episode: "Load 'O Bees"
1995–96 Gargoyles Fang (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 2
1995–10 Biography Himself Recurring Guest
1996 The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat Additional Voices (voice) Episode: "Wet Paint/News Blues/Copy Cat"
Dumb and Dumber Additional Voices (voice) Episode: "Chipped Dip / Laundryland Lunacy"
KaBlam! Louie The Chameleon (voice) Episode: "Built for Speed"
Timon & Pumbaa Male Warthog (voice) Episode: "Home Is Where the Hog Is"
The Tick Mr. Fleener (voice) Episode: "The Tick vs. Education"
1996–97 Mighty Ducks Phil Palmfeather (voice) Main Cast
1996–99 Hey Arnold! Coach Jack Wittenberg (voice) Guest Cast: Season 1–4
1997 Arena Himself Episode: "Cigars: Out of the Humidor"
Bruno the Kid - (voice) Episode: "Revenge of the Giganerd"
Cow and Chicken Butch (voice) Episode: "School Bully/Time Machine"
Life with Louie Jack (voice) Episode: "The Making of a President"
The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series Jake (voice) Main Cast
Total Security Steve Wegman Main Cast
1997–98 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Guest Cast: Season 1–2
1998 E! True Hollywood Story Himself Episode: "John Belushi"
Hercules Nestor (voice) Guest Cast: Season 1–2
Stories from My Childhood Peter The Repeater Bird (voice) Episode: "Alice and The Mystery of the Third Planet"
2000–01 Beggars and Choosers Freddy Falco Recurring Cast: Season 2
2001 ER Dan Harris Episode: "Piece of Mind"
2001–09 According to Jim James "Jim" Orenthal Main Cast
2002 The Jamie Kennedy Experiment Himself Episode: "Episode #1.17"
Rugrats Santa Claus (voice) Episode: "Babies in Toyland Part 1"
What's New, Scooby-Doo? Asa Buckwald (voice) Episode: "Scooby-Doo Christmas"
2002–06 The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Coach Gruber (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 3
2003 Mad TV Himself Episode: "Don Cheadle"
Ozzy & Drix Captain Quinine (voice) Episode: "The Conqueror Worm"
I'm with Her Leslie Buren Episode: "The Second Date"
2004 Less than Perfect Eddie Smirkoff Episode: "Arctic Nights"
2005 The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... Himself Episode: "Steve Bartman for the Cubs 2003 Playoff Collapse"
My Crazy Life Himself Episode: "Snow Jobs"
Who's No. 1? Himself Episode: "Biggest Chokes"
George Lopez The Inspector Episode: "George's Extreme Makeover: Holmes Edition"
Fatherhood Officer (voice) Episode: "Truth or Scare"
2006 My First Time Himself Episode: "Sitcom Stylings"
Second City: First Family of Comedy Himself Recurring Guest
Eloise: The Animated Series - (voice) Episode: "Eloise's Rawther Unusual Halloween: Part 1-2"
2008 Yin Yang Yo! The Puffin (voice) Episode: "The Manotaur/League of Evil"
2009 Handy Manny Sal (voice) Episode: "Francisco Comes to Town/Broken Drawbridge"
2010–11 The Defenders Nick Morelli Main Cast
2012 Doc McStuffins Glo-Bo (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1
2015 Serious Business Himself Episode: "Stand Up Guys"
Building Belushi Himself Main Cast
Show Me a Hero Angelo R. Martinelli Recurring Cast
2015–16 TripTank Guy/Dad (voices) Recurring Cast: Season 2
Good Girls Revolt William 'Wick' McFadden Recurring Cast
2016 The 7D Coach Coachy (voice) Episode: "Giggleberries/Jollyball Anyone?"
2017 Twin Peaks Bradley Mitchum Recurring Cast: Season 3
2019 Trolls: The Beat Goes On! Dad Cloud (voice) Episode: "Two's a Cloud"
2020–23 Growing Belushi Himself Main Cast
2022 Guy's All-American Road Trip Himself Episode: "Great Food With Great Friends"

Music Video edit

Year Title Artist Role
1991 "2 Legit 2 Quit" MC Hammer Newscaster

Video Games edit

Year Title Role
1996 9: The Last Resort Salty
1998 Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant The Masked Mutant

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Jim Belushi". TVGuide.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  2. ^ a b E. W. Jr. Smith (2010). Athletes Once: 100 Famous People Who Were Once Notable Athletes. Fireship Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-61179-140-2. ... son of Agnes, a first generation Albanian-American, and Adam, an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qyteze, in 1934.
  3. ^ "Saturday Night Live Bio". NBC. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "John Belushi Biography (1949–1982)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  5. ^ Broyard, Anatole (June 2, 1984). "Close-Up of John Belushi". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "SIUC grad Jim Belushi lands in ABC lineup". dailyegyptian.com.
  7. ^ "Jim Belushi stars as suburban father in According to Jim". Biography.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "Charter drives VOD with Aykroyd–Belushi video". CED. October 13, 2003. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Song, David. "Charter Unveils First MSO-Produced Video-on-Demand Original Program". Charter Communications. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  10. ^ Ausiello, Michael. "Pilot Intel: Jim Belushi eyes CBS' 'Defenders'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  11. ^ "'The Defenders' stars Jerry O'Connell, Jim Belushi chat with CBS 6". WRGB. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  12. ^ "Dan Aykroyd to Reunite with Jim Belushi on The Defenders". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  13. ^ "TV Highlights: Dan Aykroyd on 'The Defenders'; Dina Lohan on '20/20'; 'Gold Rush: Alaska' finale". The Washington Post. February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  14. ^ "The Defenders Cancelled by CBS; $#*! My Dad Says Cancelled by CBS; Mad Love Cancelled by CBS – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. May 15, 2011. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  15. ^ "Born Yesterday, Starring Jim Belushi and Nina Arianda, Sets Dates at Broadway's Cort Theatre". Broadway.com.
  16. ^ "Growing Belushi". Discovery Channel: Growing Belushi. Discovery Channel. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  17. ^ "Blues Brothers Con | Old Joliet Prison".
  18. ^ "Inaugural Blues Brothers Con". Chicago Tribune. August 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Joliet Area Historical Museum Hosts Inaugural Blues Brothers Con!".
  20. ^ a b "Jim Belushi's Wife Files for Divorce After Almost 20 Years of Marriage". March 5, 2018.
  21. ^ a b "Jim Belushi's Wife Jennifer Sloan Files for Divorce After Almost 20 Years of Marriage". PEOPLE.com. March 5, 2018.
  22. ^ "Jim Belushi's Wife Jennifer Sloan Files for Divorce After 20 Years of Marriage". Entertainment Tonight. March 5, 2018.
  23. ^ "Jim Belushi and Wife Have a Change of Heart, File to Dismiss Divorce After Reconciling". www.yahoo.com. May 2019.
  24. ^ "Albania Honours Actor Jim Belushi". Balkan Insight. November 12, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  25. ^ "Xhejms Belushi merr shtetësinë shqiptare" [James Belushi gets Albanian citizenship]. Shekulli (in Albanian). Tirana. October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  26. ^ Sanidopoulos, John. "Jim Belushi visits the Ecumenical Patriarchate".
  27. ^ "Jim Belushi loves his teams – and his haters". RedEye Chicago. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  28. ^ "Belushi, Newmar end years-long feud". UPI.
  29. ^ "Savient Pharmaceuticals and Jim Belushi Launch 'Check Out Your Gout' Educational Campaign" (Press release). Savient Pharmaceuticals. November 7, 2011. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013.
  30. ^ Dougherty, Christopher (December 6, 2012). "'King of comedy' Jim Belushi speaks out about gout". FoxNews.com. Fox News Network, LLC. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  31. ^ Rhodes, Joe (March 1, 1994). "Jim Belushi's Big Year". Cigar Aficionado.
  32. ^ "Obama Courts Campaign Donors on West Coast". Huffington Post. February 16, 2012.
  33. ^ Belushi's cabin on the Rogue | Mail Tribune Archived November 29, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  34. ^ Belushi's cannabis crush | Mail Tribune Archived November 9, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  35. ^ a b c d Eastman, Janet (November 24, 2018). "A state of change for Belushi and Oregon: After Oregon changed him, actor returns the favor". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. pp. A1, A6–A7. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  36. ^ "Tugger". tuggerjeep.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  37. ^ Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! movie gets title; 19 original voice actors returning Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved June 13, 2016

External links edit