From 1977 to 1980, Belushi, like his older brotherJohn, worked with the Chicago theater groupThe Second City. During this period, Belushi made his television debut in 1978'sWho's Watching the Kids and also had a small part inBrian De Palma'sThe Fury. His first significant role was inMichael Mann'sThief (1981). After John's death, from 1983 to 1985 he appeared onSaturday 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 filmTrading Places as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party. He made a guest appearance inFaerie Tale Theatre's third-season episode "Pinocchio", starringPaul Reubens as the titular puppet.
His first animation voice-over was as a pimple on Krumm's head inAaahh!!! Real Monsters onNickelodeon. 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.
In 2003, Belushi andDan Aykroyd released the albumHave Love, Will Travel, and participated in an accompanying tour. The concert was made available onvideo on demand byBob Gold & Associates.[8][9] He also performs at various venues nationwide as Zee Blues in an updated version ofThe Blues Brothers. He released his first book,Real Men Don't Apologize, in May 2006. Belushi was a narrator of anNFL offensive linemen commercial. Belushi also introduced the starting lineups for theUniversity of Illinois football team duringABC's telecast of the 2008 Rose Bowl.
He appeared inMC Hammer's video "Too Legit to Quit" in 1991 (in the extended full-length version). He also hosted a celebration rally for theChicago Cubs playoff series in Chicago prior to the2008 World Series. Steve Dahl has dubbed him "The Funniest Living Belushi".
In 2010, Belushi was cast in apilot forCBS calledThe 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 inBorn Yesterday, which opened onBroadway in late April.[15]
In August 2022, Belushi appeared as Brother Zee, with Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers Band, at the firstBlues Brothers Con event held atOld Joliet Prison Historical Site. 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]
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.[19] Belushi was married to actressMarjorie Bransfield from 1990 to 1992.[19] He married Jennifer Sloan on May 2, 1998; they share a daughter and a son.[20] On March 5, 2018, Sloan filed for divorce from Belushi.[20][21] The two later reconciled.[22] Belushi filed for divorce from Sloan in 2021.[23]
Belushi had a legal battle and publicized feud with his neighbor, actressJulie Newmar. She claimed their conflicts stemmed from Belushi's attempt to "build a second house in the back", which she claimed was illegal in theirR-1 neighborhood, since there can be only one house per lot. In 2004, Belushi filed a $4million 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 onAccording to Jim on an episode that satirized their conflict.[28]
In 2011, Belushi announced he was suffering fromgout, and became a spokesman forSavient Pharmaceuticals' educational campaign "Check Out Your Gout".[29][30] He appeared on the cover of and was interviewed byCigar Aficionado magazine.[31]
Belushi endorsed the re-election campaign ofDemocratic PresidentBarack Obama in 2012. On aFox 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 inEagle Point, Oregon, in 2015[33] where he now growscannabis.[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 theButte Creek Mill and the restoration of theHolly Theatre, inMedford. In 2018, he was living inLos 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 indowntown Portland.[35]
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy"Jim Belushi (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedJanuary 14, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^"Tugger".tuggerjeep.com. Archived fromthe original on December 9, 2012. RetrievedJune 15, 2017.
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