Daniel Edward Aykroyd (/ˈækrɔɪd/AK-royd; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian-American[1] actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer.
Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on theNBCsketch comedy seriesSaturday Night Live from its inception in 1975 until his departure in 1979. During his tenure onSNL, he appeared in a recurring series of sketches, including theConeheads andthe Blues Brothers. For his work on the show, he received fivePrimetime Emmy Award nominations, winning forOutstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1977. Since his departure, he has returned for guest roles.
Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952, atOttawa General Hospital inOttawa,Ontario.[2] His father, Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd (1922–2020), a civil engineer, worked as a policy adviser to Canadian Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau,[3] and his mother, Lorraine Hélène Marie (née Gougeon; 1918–2018), was a secretary.[4][5][6][7] His mother was ofFrench Canadian descent and his father of English, Scottish, Irish, French, and Dutch ancestry.[8] His paternal ancestor was Englishman Samuel Aykroyd fromHalifax, Yorkshire, who emigrated to the United States, eventually settling inUpper Canada nearKingston, Ontario, in 1810.[9] His brother,Peter (1955–2021), was also an actor.
Aykroyd developed his musical career in Ottawa, particularly through his regular attendance atLe Hibou, a club that featured many blues artists. He describes these influences:
There was a little disco club there called Le Hibou, which in French means "the owl." And it was run by a gentleman namedHarvey Glatt, and he brought every, and I mean every, blues star that you or I would ever have wanted to have seen through Ottawa in the late '50s, well I guess more late '60s sort of, in around the Newport jazz rediscovery. I was going to Le Hibou and hearingJames Cotton,Otis Spann,Pinetop Perkins, andMuddy Waters. I did actually jam behind Muddy Waters. S. P. Leary left the drum kit one night, and Muddy said "anybody out there play drums? I don't have a drummer." And I walked on stage and we started, I don't know,Little Red Rooster, something. He said "keep that beat going, you make Muddy feel good." And I heardHowlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett). Many, many times I saw Howlin' Wolf. As well asthe Doors. And of courseBuddy Guy, Buddy Guy andJunior Wells,Sonny Terry andBrownie McGhee. So I was exposed to all of these players, playing there as part of this scene to service the academic community in Ottawa, a very well-educated community. Had I lived in a different town I don't think that this would have happened, because it was just the confluence of educated government workers, and then also all the colleges in the area,Ottawa University,Carleton, and all the schools—these people were interested in blues culture.[11][12]
Aykroyd's first professional experience, which he gained at the age of 17, was as a member of the cast of the short-lived Canadian sketch comedy seriesThe Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, withLorne Michaels, among others.[13] He was a member of theSecond City comedy troupe in 1973 in both Toronto and Chicago.[14]
Aykroyd gained fame on the American late-night comedy showSaturday Night Live (SNL). He was originally hired, and paid $278 a week (equivalent to $1,603 in 2024), as a writer, but became part of the cast before the series premiered. The original cast was called "The Not Ready For Prime Time Players". Aykroyd was the youngest member and appeared on the show for its first four seasons, from 1975 to 1979. He brought a sensibility that combined youth, unusual interests, talent as animpersonator, and manic intensity. Guest hostEric Idle ofMonty Python said that Aykroyd's ability to write and act out characters made him the only member of theSNL cast capable of being a Python.[15]
He was known for his impersonations of celebrities such asJimmy Carter,Vincent Price,Richard Nixon,Rod Serling,Tom Snyder, andJulia Child. He was also known for his recurring roles, such as Beldar, father of theConeheads family; withSteve Martin, Yortuk Festrunk, one of the "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" brothers fromBratislava, Slovakia; sleazy late-night cable TV host E. Buzz Miller and his cousin, corrupt maker of children's toys and costumes Irwin Mainway (who extolled the virtues and defended the safety of the "Bag-o-Glass" toy); Fred Garvin, a male prostitute; and high-bred but lowbrow criticLeonard Pinth-Garnell. Aykroyd andJane Curtin parodied the CBS news show60 Minutes Point/Counterpoint segment, which featured the liberalShana Alexander and the conservative segregationistJames Kilpatrick, by portraying the two as hating each other; Aykroyd's first words in response to Curtin's point were, "Jane, you ignorant slut!"[16]
Aykroyd's eccentric talent was recognized by others in the highly competitiveSNL environment; when he first presented his "Super Bass-O-Matic '76" sketch, a fake TV commercial in which a garish pitchman based onRon Popeil touts afood blender that turns an entirebass into liquid pulp, the other writers and cast members considered the sketch "so exhilaratingly strange that many remember sitting and listening, open-mouthed... Nobody felt jealous of it because they couldn't imagine writing anything remotely like it."[17] Aykroyd later said the sketch was inspired by seeing his aunt Helene Gougeon (a culinary writer and food columnist inMontreal) put a bass into a blender to make abouillabaisse when he was 12 years old.[18][19]
Aykroyd was a close friend and partner of fellow cast memberJohn Belushi and shared some of his sensibilities, but was more reserved and less self-destructive. Aykroyd later recalled that, unlike Belushi and others of his peers, he was uninterested in recreational drug use.[20]
In 1977, he received anEmmy Award for writing onSNL; he later received two more nominations for writing and one for acting. InRolling Stone's February 2015 appraisal of all 141SNL cast members to date, Aykroyd ranked fifth (behind Belushi,Eddie Murphy,Tina Fey, andMike Myers). "Of all the original greats, Aykroyd is the least imitated", they wrote, "because nobody else can do what he did."[21]
In later decades, Aykroyd made occasional guest appearances and unannouncedcameos onSNL, often playing the politicianBob Dole. He also brought back characters including Irwin Mainway and Leonard Pinth-Garnell. In 1995, he introduced a performance by Canadian rock bandThe Tragically Hip.[22] A fan of the band, he had personally lobbiedLorne Michaels to book them as musical guests.[23]
During some guest appearances, he resurrected the Blues Brothers musical act with frequent hostJohn Goodman in place of Belushi, who was by then deceased. He became the second member of the original cast to hostSNL in May 2003, when he appeared in the season finale. During his monologue, he performed a musical number withJames Belushi similar to the Blues Brothers, but neither man donned the black suit and sunglasses. On March 24, 2007, Aykroyd appeared as a crying fan ofAmerican Idol finalistSanjaya Malakar (played byAndy Samberg) during "Weekend Update". On February 14, 2009, he appeared as U.S. House Minority leaderJohn Boehner. Aykroyd also made a surprise guest appearance, along with many otherSNL alumni, on the show of March 9, 2013.[24]
Aykroyd was a close friend ofJohn Belushi. According to Aykroyd, their first meeting helped spark the Blues Brothers act. When they met in a club that Aykroyd frequented, he played a blues record in the background, and it stimulated a fascination with blues in Belushi, who was primarily a fan of heavy rock bands at the time. Aykroyd educated Belushi on the finer points of blues music, and with a little encouragement from then-SNL music directorPaul Shaffer, it led to the creation of their Blues Brothers characters.[25][26]
Backed by such experienced professional R&B sidemen as lead guitaristSteve Cropper, sax manLou Marini, trumpeterAlan Rubin, and bass guitaristDonald "Duck" Dunn, The Blues Brothers proved more than anSNL novelty. Taking off with the public as a legitimate musical act, they performed live gigs and in 1978 released the hit albumBriefcase Full of Blues (drawn from the fact that Aykroyd, as "Elwood Blues", carried his blues harmonicas in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist in the manner of a CIA courier; Belushi originally carried the key to the handcuffs).Briefcase Full of Blues sold 3.5 million copies and is one of the highest-selling blues albums of all time.[11] The band was much further popularised by the 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers, which Aykroyd co-wrote. A sequel,Blues Brothers 2000, was released in 1998 with John Goodman as Belushi's replacement.[citation needed]
Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers in their early days. Belushi and Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while Blues Brothers band member Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. When they needed a bass player, they were joined by another band member, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper, along with producing partner and Cherokee ownerBruce Robb, worked on a number of music projects with the two comedians/musicians, including Belushi's favourite band,Fear, and later Aykroyd's movieDragnet.[citation needed]
The Blues Brothers Band continues to tour, both with and without Aykroyd. It features original members Cropper and Marini, along with vocalistEddie Floyd. Aykroyd sometimes performs as Elwood, along with Belushi's younger brotherJim Belushi, who plays "Brother Zee" on stage. They are most frequently backed by the Sacred Hearts Band.[27]
Concurrent with his work inSaturday Night Live, Aykroyd played Purvis Bickle, lift operator at the fictitious office block 99 Sumach Street in theCBC Television seriesComing Up Rosie.[28]
After leavingSNL, Aykroyd starred in a number of films, mostly comedies, with uneven results both commercially and artistically. His first three American feature films all co-starred Belushi. The first,1941 (1979), directed bySteven Spielberg, was abox-office disappointment. The second,The Blues Brothers (1980), which he co-wrote with directorJohn Landis, was a massive hit. The third,Neighbors (1981), had a mixed critical reaction but was another box-office hit. One of his best-received performances was as a blueblood-turned-wretch in the 1983 comedyTrading Places, in which he co-starred with fellowSNL alumnusEddie Murphy andJamie Lee Curtis. He also appeared inTwilight Zone: The Movie in the prologue and at the end of Segment Four as the passenger and the ambulance driver.[citation needed]
In the early 1980s, Aykroyd began work on a script for the film that eventually becameGhostbusters, inspired by his fascination withparapsychology and his belief in ghosts. The script initially included a much greater fantasy element, includingtime travel, but this was toned down substantially through work on the script withHarold Ramis (who became a co-writer) and directorIvan Reitman. Aykroyd originally wrote the role of Dr. Peter Venkman with Belushi in mind, but rewrote it forBill Murray after Belushi's death. Aykroyd joked that the green ghost, later known as "Slimer", was the ghost of John Belushi and based on Belushi's party-animal personality.Ghostbusters was released in 1984 and became a huge success for Aykroyd, who also appeared as one of the lead actors; the film earned nearlyUS$300million on aUS$30million budget. Aykroyd also briefly appeared in the hit 1984 action-adventure filmIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as an escort with a British accent.
Aykroyd as a guest MTV VJ in 1982
Aykroyd's next major film role was in the 1985 spy comedy filmSpies Like Us, which likeThe Blues Brothers was co-conceived and co-written by Aykroyd and directed by Landis. Aykroyd had again intended for Belushi to be the other lead in the film; the part was given toSNL alumnusChevy Chase. The film was intended as an homage to theBob Hope/Bing CrosbyRoad to ... movies of the 1940s to 1960s. Hope made a cameo appearance in the film.[29]
Dragnet, in which Aykroyd co-starred (withTom Hanks) and which he co-wrote, was released in 1987. The film was both an homage and a satire of thepreviousDragnet series, with Aykroyd playingJoe Friday as a police officer whose law-and-order attitude is at odds with modern sensibilities.[citation needed]
A sequel toGhostbusters,Ghostbusters II, was released in 1989; Aykroyd and the other co-creators were reluctant to make anotherGhostbusters film, but succumbed to pressure from the film's studio,Columbia Pictures.[30] The film, while considered inferior to the original, was another big hit, earningUS$215million. Aykroyd was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1989'sDriving Miss Daisy. He was the fourthSNL cast member to be nominated for an Oscar, afterJoan Cusack.[31]
In 1994, Aykroyd made a guest appearance in an episode of the sitcomThe Nanny as a refrigerator repairman. In 1997, he starred as an Episcopal priest in the ABC sitcomSoul Man, which lasted two seasons. In 1998, he voiced the role of Chip, a wasp, in theDreamWorks Animation filmAntz.
Aykroyd was one of the executive producers ofGhostbusters (2016), a long-discussed reboot of theGhostbusters franchise. He had a cameo appearance in the film, along with many of the rest of the surviving originalGhostbusters cast.[36][37]
In 2021, Aykroyd provided the voice of the Postage Stamp Fellow in the episodeThe Dad-Feelings Limited in the TV seriesThe Simpsons. He also reprised his role of Dr. Ray Stantz in the movieGhostbusters: Afterlife (2021). Aykroyd expressed interest in having the surviving three actors of the original Ghostbusters reprising their roles for as many sequels as possible. He again reprised his role inGhostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).[38]
Aykroyd participated in the recording of "We Are the World" in 1985, as a member of the chorus. He wrote the liner notes for fellow Ottawa-born blues musicianJW-Jones's albumBluelisted in 2008. Until it ended in 2018, he hosted the internationally syndicated radio show "Elwood's BluesMobile", formerly known as theHouse of Blues Radio Hour, under his Blues Brothers moniker Elwood Blues.[39]
Many other music and Hollywood personalities helped to finance this chain at its start. It began as a single location inCambridge, Massachusetts, although other locations quickly followed, starting with a venue inNew Orleans in 1994. OnNew Year's Eve that year, Aykroyd opened the "Aykroyd's Ghetto House Cafe" featuring one of the eight police cars from the first Blues Brothers movie protruding from the second story, onPrincess Street inKingston, Ontario.[41]
In 2004, "House of Blues" became the second-largest live music promoter in the world, with seven venues and 22 amphitheatres in theUnited States andCanada. It was bought byLive Nation in 2006.[42] In 2007, Aykroyd and artistJohn Alexander foundedCrystal Head Vodka, a brand of high-endvodka known for its skull-shaped bottle and for being filtered throughHerkimer diamond crystals.[43]
In 2016, Aykroyd partnered with TV producersEric Bischoff andJason Hervey and game developerIke McFadden to release an online-casino game that features the Blues Brothers. He provided the in-game voice of Elwood Blues via voiceover.[44] Aykroyd is also owner in part of several wineries in Canada'sNiagara Peninsula, and the company that distributesPatróntequila in Canada.[45]
In 2009, Aykroyd contributed a series of reminiscences about his upbringing in Canada for a charity album,Dan Aykroyd's Canada. He helped start the Blue Line Foundation, which is redeveloping flood-damaged lots in New Orleans and helpingfirst responders buy them at reduced prices. Coastal Blue Line LLC, hopes to eventually rebuild 400 properties in New Orleans.[46]
Aykroyd is a member of Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[47]
Aykroyd was briefly engaged to actressCarrie Fisher, proposing to her on the set ofThe Blues Brothers. In the film, she appeared as a jilted girlfriend of John Belushi's character, Jake Blues. Their engagement ended when she reconciled with her former boyfriend, musicianPaul Simon. On April 29, 1983, Aykroyd married actressDonna Dixon on a friend's rooftop inMartha's Vineyard.[48] The couple met on the set ofDoctor Detroit and appeared together in four additional films:Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983),Spies Like Us (1985),The Couch Trip (1988), andExit to Eden (1994). Together they have three daughters, including Danielle (known by her stage name,Vera Sola). In 2022, the couple announced that they were separating but would remain legally married.[49]
In a 2004NPR interview with hostTerry Gross, Aykroyd said he had been diagnosed in childhood withTourette syndrome (TS). He said his TS was successfully treated with therapy.[50] In 2015, he said in an interview onHuffPost with hostsRoy Sekoff andMarc Lamont Hill that he hasAsperger syndrome which was "never diagnosed", but was "sort of a self-diagnosis" based on several of his own characteristics,[51] contradicting his earlier claim in theDaily Mail that he had been officially diagnosed in the early 1980s after his wife Donna persuaded him to see a doctor.[52][53] Aykroyd's family members noticed a pattern of behavior consistent with the syndrome when he was in middle school and was evaluated by a psychologist, but the condition had not yet been identified at the time.[54]
Aykroyd is a former reserve commander for the police department inHarahan, Louisiana, working for Chief of Police Peter Dale. While on the force, he carried his badge with him at all times.[55] He currently serves as a reserve deputy of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department inHinds County, Mississippi. He supports the reserves with a fundraiser concert along with other blues and gospel singers in Mississippi.[56]
Aykroyd's passions for the outdoors, geology and paleontology, which he attributes to watching his father work on constructing the Gatineau Parkway which included blasting through granite rock formations to run the highway,[57] led him to join CanadianpaleontologistPhilip J. Currie on a number of digs, including fundraising digs and galas as fundraisers for the construction of thePhilip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum inWembley, Alberta,[58] which recognised Aykroyd's contributions by naming its theatre theAykroyd Family Theatre.[59]
In an appearance on theToday show, Aykroyd called Belushi and himself "kindred spirits". In the biographyBelushi, Aykroyd claims that Belushi was the only man with whom he could ever dance. The pair were scheduled to present theAcademy Award for Visual Effects in1982, but Belushi died a few weeks before the ceremony. Devastated by his friend's death, Aykroyd presented the award alone, saying from the stage, "My partner would have loved to have been here to present this, given that he was something of a visual effect himself."[60]
Aykroyd was an outspoken critic of the 1989 filmWired, a biopic of Belushi based on the1984 book of the same name byBob Woodward and starringMichael Chiklis in his film debut as Belushi[61] and Gary Groomes as Aykroyd. Along with Belushi's widow Judith, his brotherJim, and many other friends, associates and relatives of Belushi, he boycotted the film and the associated book for misrepresenting Belushi's life,[62] and in an interview forMTV'sThe Big Picture in June 1988, expressed his desire that the film would underperform at the box office, which ultimately happened; he said, "I have witches working now to jinx the thing... I hope it never gets seen and I am going to hurl all the negative energy I can and muster all my hell energies. My thunderbolts are out on this one, quite truthfully." He had actorJ. T. Walsh removed from the filmLoose Cannons after Walsh had already done two days of filming after finding out that Walsh had been in the cast ofWired. Walsh, who had played Woodward inWired, was replaced byPaul Koslo,[63] causing the film a $125,000 production delay.
I am a Spiritualist, a proud wearer of the Spiritualist badge. Mediums and psychic research have gone on for many, many years ... Loads of people have seen spirits, heard a voice, or felt the cold temperature. I believe that they are between here and there, that they exist between the fourth and fifth dimensions, and that they visit us frequently.[64]
Aykroyd's great-grandfather, a dentist, was amystic who corresponded with author SirArthur Conan Doyle on the subject of Spiritualism, and was a member of theLily Dale Society.[64] Other than Spiritualism, Aykroyd is also interested in various other aspects of theparanormal, particularlyUFOlogy. He is a lifetime member of and official Hollywood consultant for theMutual UFO Network (MUFON). Along these lines, he served, from 1996 to 2000, as host ofPsi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, which claimed to describe cases drawn from the archives of "The Office of Scientific Investigation and Research". In 2005, Aykroyd produced the DVDDan Aykroyd: Unplugged on UFOs.
Aykroyd was interviewed for 80 minutes by UFOlogist David Sereda, discussing in depth many aspects of the UFO phenomenon.[65]
On September 29, 2009, Peter Aykroyd Sr., Dan's father, published a book entitledA History of Ghosts. This book chronicled the family's historical involvement in the Spiritualist movement, to which Aykroyd readily refers. Aykroyd wrote the introduction and accompanied his father on a series of promotional activities, including launches in New York and Toronto, appearances onLarry King Live andCoast to Coast AM, and various other public-relations initiatives. Aykroyd also read the introduction for the audio version of the book.[66] In 1997, theCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry awarded Aykroydin absentia the Snuffed Candle Award for hostingPsi Factor and being a "long-time promoter ... of paranormal claims". Following the awards,Joe Nickell wrote to Aykroyd asking for the research behind the "cases" presented onPsi Factor, particularly a claim that NASA scientists were "killed while investigating a meteor crash and giant eggs were found and incubated, yielding a flea the size of a hog".[67]
In 1977, Aykroyd received an Emmy Award forOutstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series for his collaborative work onSaturday Night Live. In 1994, he received anhonorary Doctor of Literature degree from Carleton University.[75] In 1999, Aykroyd was made a Member of theOrder of Canada.[76] He was inducted intoCanada's Walk of Fame in 2002.[77] In 2017, he was made a member of theOrder of Ontario in recognition for being "one of the world's most popular entertainers, well-known for his time onSaturday Night Live and the 1984 classic movieGhostbusters."[78]
^Aykroyd, Peter H. (1992).The anniversary compulsion: Canada's centennial celebration, a model mega-anniversary. Dundurn Press Ltd. p. ix.ISBN1-55002-185-0.
^This recollection of Aykroyd is subject to challenge. Some assert that it was Ottawa artistArthur IIArchived July 6, 2011, at theWayback Machine who joined the band to play drums and that, at best, Aykroyd was a member of the audience.
^"I was never into the powders or pills. I tried it all but didn't like that clenched-teeth feeling. I didn't like the 'I'm a palpitating rabbit and I'm gonna solve the world's problems' feeling either. I drank some beers. I'm still here." Sean O'Hagan,"I'm still haunted by Belushi",The Observer September 2003.
^Rolling Stone, issue 1229, February 26, 2015, p. 32.
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