John Belushi was found crashed on stranger’s sofa after vanishing from Blues Brothers set, Dan Aykroyd says
Classic musical comedy was released less than two years before Belushi died of a drug overdose
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Your support makes all the difference.John Belushi once disappeared from the set of The Blues Brothers looking for food, his co-star Dan Aykroyd has recalled.
The late actor, who died of a drug overdose in 1982, was unhappy with the catering on the set of the classic musical comedy and ventured out to a nearby residential street instead.
“We lost John one night,” Aykroyd told The Guardian. “But it wasn’t because he was high, it was because he was hungry and didn’t like what was available to eat on set.
“I couldn’t find him anywhere. Finally, I saw this path going through a parking lot and into a nearby neighbourhood so I followed it. The neighbourhood was dark except for one house.
“I knock on the door and say, ‘Excuse me, we’re shooting a movie and missing one of our actors.’ The guy goes, ‘Oh, Belushi? He came in about an hour ago, raided my fridge and crashed on my couch.’”
Director John Landis added that Belushi “almost died” while filming The Blues Brothers, having become addicted to cocaine in the wake of their previous collaboration: the college comedy Animal House.
“For me, the biggest tragedy is that in Animal House he was there 100% for me and himself,” Landis said. “In The Blues Brothers at the best moments he’s there 75% – but he’s great, so most people don’t notice.”
Belushi fatally overdosed less than two years after the release of the film, after ingesting a mixture of cocaine and heroin while staying at the famous Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.
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