Hollywood Memorial

Born right here in Chicago, later moving to Wheaton, where John played on the high school football team and was homecoming king. Belushi then auditioned for and won a spot with Chicago’s famous Second City ensemble. In 1973 John moved to New York City and landed a role off-Broadway in National Lampoon’s ‘Lemmings.’ In 1975 a new skit comedy program was being cast and John won a spot with an audition featuring his soon to be familiar Samurai character as a pool hustler. John formed a partnership with fellow cast mate Dan Aykroyd and together they introduced the Blues Brothers with a rendition of ‘Hey Bartender’ in the spring of 1978 on SNL and followed it with the release of an album, ‘Briefcase Full of Blues.’ That same year saw the release of ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House’ and John became a huge star. John continued as a member of SNL until September of 1979. He and Aykroyd then threw themselves into the creation of ‘The Blues Brothers.’ Released in 1980, it set a record for the most cars crashed in one movie and sparked a renewed interest in the blues. Unfortunately, with his fame, apparently, came a cocaine addiction. His last days were spent in West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont Hotel, with similar hard-core users. Witnesses said that on March 5, 1982, John mainlined a cocktail of heroin and cocaine called a ‘speedball.’ The overdose caused a complete respiratory failure and killed him. On March 9, Dan Aykroyd, in a black leather jacket and black jeans, led John’s funeral procession on his motorcycle. His family erected a headstone / cenotaph at Elmwood Cemetery just outside Chicago, but he is actually buried in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts where he and his wife had a home.