Jim Belushi
James Belushi | |
---|---|
![]() James Belushi in 2007 | |
Born | James Adam Belushi June 15, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Other names | "The Belush", "Funniest Living Belushi" |
Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, singer |
Years active | 1977–present |
Spouse(s) | Jennifer Sloan (1998–present; 2 children) Marjorie Bransfield (1990–1992; divorced) Sandra Davenport (1980–1988; divorced; 1 child) |
James Adam "Jim" Belushi (born June 15, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.
Early life
Belushi was born in Chicago. He is the son of Agnes (née Samaras), who was of Albanian descent, and Adam Belushi (1918–1996), an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of sixteen. Jim was raised in a Chicago suburb, along with his three siblings: older brother John, his sister, Marian, and a younger brother, Billy.[1][2][3][4] After graduating from Wheaton Central High School, Jim Belushi attended the College of DuPage and graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a degree in Speech and Theater Arts.
Career
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 his elder brother John's death, from 1983 to 1985 he appeared on Saturday Night Live; he portrayed characters such as Hank Rippy from "Hello, Trudy!", 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 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, Dimenticare Palermo, Taking Care of Business, Mr. Destiny, Only the Lonely, Curly Sue, Once Upon A Crime, Wild Palms, Royce, Race the Sun, Separate Lives, Retroactive, Gang Related, Angel's Dance and Joe Somebody (2001). K-9 produced two sequels that were released straight to video, K-911, featuring Mac, Sonto & Reno as "Jerry Lee", K-9: P.I., featuring King as "Jerry Lee", and The George Lopez Show as the building inspector in "George's Extreme Makeover: Holmes Edition".[5]
His voice work includes The Mighty Ducks, The Pebble and the Penguin, Babes in Toyland, Gargoyles and Hey Arnold!, and the more recent 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. On January 4, 2001, Belushi appeared on the ER episode "Piece of Mind". The episode focused on both Dr. Mark Greene's life-or-death brain surgery in New York and 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. His first animation voice-over was as a pimple on Krum's head in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters on Nickelodeon. That performance led him to be cast in the continuing role as Simon the Monster Hunter in that series, where he ad-libbed much of his own dialogue.
In 2003, Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released the album Have Love, Will Travel, and participated in an accompanying tour. 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.
Recently, 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.
Belushi started to take interest in his Albanian ancestry. During his visit to Tirana on November 11, 2008, he received the order Honor of the Nation from the President of Albania, H.E. Bamir Topi. On October 9, 2009, he received Albanian citizenship.[6]
Belushi 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.[7] The one-hour series premiered on September 22, 2010.[8] In two episodes in 2011, Belushi was paired with Blues Brothers partner Dan Aykroyd.[9][10] On May 15, 2011, The Defenders was canceled by CBS.[11]
In 2011 Belushi was cast as corrupt businessman Harry Brock in Born Yesterday, which opened on Broadway in late April.[12]
Personal life
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Belushi has been married three times and has three children. He married Sandra Davenport on May 17, 1980 and had a son, Robert James (born October 23, 1981), with her before they divorced. He was married to Marjorie Bransfield from 1990 to 1992. He has been married to Jennifer Sloan since May 2, 1998, with whom he has a daughter, Jamison Bess (born July 28, 1999), and a son, Jared James (born February 8, 2002). They live in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Belushi is closely linked to his Albanian heritage and recently received honorary Albanian citizenship from the President of Albania, Bamir Topi.[6] Belushi is an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bears and the Chicago Fire Soccer Club.
In 2011, Belushi announced that he suffered from gout, and became a spokesman for Savient Pharmaceuticals' educational campaign "Check Out Your Gout".[13]
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | Working Stiffs | Ernie O'Rourke | 9 episodes |
1981 | Thief | Barry | |
1983 | Trading Places | Harvey | |
1983–1985 | Saturday Night Live | Various | 33 episodes |
1985 | The Man with One Red Shoe | Morris | |
1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Patrick | Cameo Appearance |
Salvador | Doctor Rock | ||
Jumpin' Jack Flash | Cab driver, police officer, Sperry repair man | ||
About Last Night... | Bernie Litgo | ||
1987 | The Principal | Rick Latimer | |
Real Men | Nick Pirandello | ||
1988 | Red Heat | Det. Sgt. Art Ridzic (Ridžić) | |
1989 | K-9 | Detective Michael Dooley | |
Homer and Eddie | Homer Lanza | ||
Who's Harry Crumb? | Man on Bus | uncredited | |
1990 | Taking Care of Business | Jimmy Dworski | |
Mr. Destiny | Larry Joseph Burrows | ||
Masters of Menace | Gypsy | ||
Dimenticare Palermo | Carmine Bonavia | ||
Wedding Band | Reverend | ||
1991 | Curly Sue | Bill Dancer | |
Diary of a Hitman | Shandy | ||
Only the Lonely | Salvatore Buonarte | ||
Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe | Principal Latimer | ||
1992 | Traces of Red | Jack Dobson | |
Once Upon a Crime | Neil | ||
1993 | Wild Palms | Harry Wyckoff | (mini-series) |
Last Action Hero | Himself | ||
1994 | Royce | Shane Royce | Television |
Parallel Lives | Television | ||
1995 | Sahara | Sergeant Joe Gunn | Television |
Canadian Bacon | Charles Jackal | ||
Separate Lives | Tom Beckwith | ||
Gargoyles | Fang | 3 episodes, 1995–1996 | |
The Pebble and the Penguin | Rocko | Voice | |
Destiny Turns on the Radio | Tuerto | ||
Irving | Gay Vampire #2 | ||
1996 | Jingle All the Way | Mall Santa | |
Race the Sun | Frank Machi | ||
Gold in the Streets | Mario | ||
Pinky and the Brain | Additional voices | 3 episodes | |
Mighty Ducks | Phil Palmfeather | 3 episodes | |
Hey Arnold! | Coach Wittenberg | 4 episodes, 1996–1999 | |
1997 | Gang Related | Frank Divinci | Alongside Tupac Shakur |
Retroactive | Frank Lloyd | Time travel | |
Living in Peril | Harrison/Oliver | ||
Disney's Bad Baby | Dad | Voice | |
Wag the Dog | Himself (as Jim Belushi) | ||
Total Security | Steve Wegman | 13 episodes | |
1998 | Overnight Delivery | Overnight Delivery Boss | scenes deleted |
1999 | Angel's Dance | Stevie 'The Rose' Rosellini | |
Made Men | Bill "The Mouth" Manucci | ||
K-911 | Detective Michael Dooley | Video | |
My Neighbors the Yamadas | Takashi | voice: English version | |
The Florentine | Billy Belasco | ||
2000 | Return to Me | Joe Dayton | |
2001 | Joe Somebody | Chuck Scarett | |
According to Jim | James "Jim" Orenthal | 182 episodes, 2001–2009 | |
2002 | Snow Dogs | Demon | Voice (small role) |
Pinocchio | The Farmer | (English voice) | |
K-9: P.I. | Detective Michael Dooley | ||
2003 | Easy Six | Elvis | |
2004 | DysEnchanted | Doctor (The Shrink) | |
Less Than Perfect | Eddie Smirkoff | ||
2005 | Hoodwinked! | Woodsman | Voice |
2006 | Casper's Scare School | Alder | Voice |
The Wild | Benny | Voice | |
Tugger The 4x4 Jeep That Wanted to Fly[14] | Tugger | Voice | |
2007 | Underdog | Dan Unger (Father) | |
Once Upon a Christmas Village | Santa Claus | Voice | |
2008 | Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King | Goblin | Voice |
Snow Buddies | rescue dog | Voice | |
2010 | The Ghost Writer | John Maddox | |
The Defenders | Nick Morelli | Television | |
2011 | Cougars, Inc. | Dan Fox | |
New Year's Eve (film). | Building Super | ||
2012 | Dorothy of Oz | The Cowardly Lion | Voice (Pre-production) |
Bronko |
Characters on Saturday Night Live
- Hank Rippy (Hello, Trudy!)
- Man on the Street Jesse Donnelly
- That White Guy, a stereotypical Caucasian man who can rap
Celebrity impersonations
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References
- ^ "Saturday Night Live Bio". NBC. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009.
- ^ "John Belushi Biography (1949–1982)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^
Broyard, Anatole (June 2, 1984). \ "Close-Up Of John Belushi". The New York Times.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ Dunham, Chris (July 12, 2009). "Before They Were Belushis (or Blues Brothers)". Genealogywise.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ "Jim Belushi, Poster Child For The Desperately Seeking A Hit Foundation, Isn't The Only Actor Stuck In A Box-office Drought". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ a b
"Xhejms Belushi merr shtetësinë shqiptare". Shekulli (in Albanian). Tirana. October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Ausiello, Michael. "Pilot Intel: Jim Belushi eyes CBS' 'Defenders'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ "'The Defenders' stars Jerry O'Connell, Jim Belushi chat with CBS 6". WRGB. September 16, 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Dan Aykroyd to Reunite with Jim Belushi on The Defenders". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/05/15/the-defenders-s-my-dad-says-and-mad-love-canceled-by-cbs/92704/
- ^ "Born Yesterday, Starring Jim Belushi and Nina Arianda, Sets Dates at Broadway's Cort Theatre". Broadway.com.
- ^ "Savient Pharmaceuticals and Jim Belushi Launch "Check Out Your Gout" Educational Campaign" (Press release). Savient Pharmaceuticals. November 7, 2011.
- ^ Tugger
External links
- Jim Belushi at IMDb
- Jim Belushi at AllMovie