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John Belushi
The son of a Chicago restauranteur, American comic actor John Belushi played drums in a high school band and excelled in football. But acting was his first love, a love requited by college productions and summer stock. He and several old pals auditioned for Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, but only Belushi was selected, and he became the youngest-ever performer to appear in Second City's "main stage" productions. His improvisational style sometimes had a nasty, dangerous, "politically incorrect" edge, but such traits were prized rather than discouraged during the early '70s. Belushi's guerrilla comic techniques were reportedly inspired by the 1968 Democratic Convention riots in Chicago, and he was among the few performers who could successfully exploit violence and social upheaval as a source of humor. Belushi was hired in 1973 for the off-Broadway National Lampoon's Lemmings, and subsequently participated in future National Lampoon projects, including its syndicated "Radio Hour." In 1975, he was one of several Second City alumni cast in NBC's new satirical revue program Saturday Night Live. And though frustrated by the media's concentration on co-star Chevy Chase during the show's maiden season, Belushi fully came into his own once Chase left in 1976. Among Belushi's celebrated comic creations were the fish-out-of-water Samurai warrior; the "cheeseburger cheeseburger" short-order cook; and -- with close friend Dan Aykroyd -- the ultra-hip Blues Brothers.
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