Death of John Belushi

"Yeah...they all thought I'd be the first to go. I was one of those "live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse" types, you know?"

- John Belushi in the short film "Don't Look Back in Anger", where he was ironically depicted as the last living original cast member of SNL



John Belushi was an American actor and comedian best known for being one of the original cast members (Not Ready for Prime Time Players) of Saturday Night Live during its first 4 seasons from 1975 to 1979, before he left the show to star in movies such as mh:greatestmovies:National Lampoon's Animal House, and the Blues Brothers, although he continued to make cameo appearances on SNL.

When Belushi transitioned from a TV actor to Hollywood film actor in the late 1970s, he also developed a drug addiction, which would eventually claim his life in 1982.

John was found dead on March 5, 1982, at the age of 33, in a hotel room at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, a lethal injection of cocaine and heroin. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, among others, and while there was some dispute in the findings it was eventually officially ruled a drug-related accident. There was some suspicion of foul play by his companion and drug dealer at the time, Cathy Smith, who was a former backup singer for The Band.

John Belushi was the first former SNL cast member to pass away, and his death impacted the production of various 1980s movies, like Joy of Sex and mh:greatestmovies:Ghostbusters.

John's life and death were covered in Bob Woodward's book Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi, along with the 1989 biopic of the same name.

May he rest in peace.