The American actor, comedian, singer and musician celebrated his breakthrough in 1986 in Oliver Stone’s political thriller “Salvador”. He also became known in the US as the star of the “Saturday Night Live” show. In his subsequent career, he established himself as an actor of idiosyncratic to neurotic personalities in mostly comedic films. James Belushi managed to independently develop tragic and humorous characters. His most popular films include “Red Heat”, “Homer and Eddie”, “Abraxas”, “Wag The Dog” and “My Partner With the Cold Nose”…
James Belushi was born on June 15, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois.
Belushi’s older brother, John Belushi, initially eclipsed him in his work as a comedian. After his acting training at the Actor”s Studio, James Belushi then became a member of the Chicago satirical theater Second City. He appeared in the hit Broadway musicals The Pirates of Penzance and True West. His brother made it to the famous “Saturday Night Live” show as an acclaimed star until he passed away in the early 1980s. James Belushi toured the United States with the Chicago ensemble until 1979, when he landed a starring role in the television series Working Stiffs, starring opposite Michael Keaton. From television he came to film, where he celebrated his screen debut in the thriller “The Loner”.
However, he did not make the breakthrough and was therefore still represented in stage and television productions. Two years after his brother died, he was also signed to “Saturday Night Live”. Personally and professionally, success did not really come. His first marriage broke up and the father of one child made headlines with drug and alcohol problems. Only in 1986 did Belushi convince in Oliver Stone’s thriller “Salvador”, in which he played a disc jockey. The role made him a popular actor. Comedies like “Just Like Last Night”, “Jumpin” Jack Flash” with Whoopi Goldberg and “The Little Shop of Horrors” followed.
But Belushi also tried his hand at the action genre. He was seen in “The Principal – One Against All” and as a loud-mouthed policeman in “Red Heat” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. But his focus remained comedy. It was also his most successful film to date. In 1989 he played one of his most popular roles with Tom Hanks in “My Partner with the Cold Face”. This was followed by engagements in films such as “Homer and Eddie” (1989) with Whoopi Goldberg, “Who Is Harry Crumb?”, “Filofax: I Am You and You Are Nothing” and “Palermo Forget” (1990).
There was also work with other famous colleagues on the shooting schedule such as “Mr. Destiny” alongside Michael Caine and Linda Hamilton, “No One Gets Out Of Here Alive” with Forest Whitaker and Sharon Stone and “Curly Sue – A Curly Head Causes a Stir”. alongside Kelly Lynch. In 2000, the tragic-humorous love story “Zurück zu dir” was released in German cinemas, in which James Belushi played alongside David Duchovny. The two projects “Joe Somebody” and “One Way Out” are among Belushi’s other works from 2001 and 2002. In 2006 he was involved in the dubbing of the animated films “Tierisch wild” and “Die Rotkaeppchen-Verschwörn”.
Afterwards he was mostly represented in supporting roles. However, he celebrated success with numerous series productions such as “The Defenders” (2010-2011) or “Good Girls Revolt” (2010-2016).
Filmography
1978 – Vicious Alpha
1981 – The Loner
1983 – Pinocchio
1983 – The Soldiers of Fortune
1984 – TV: The Best Legs In The 8th Grade
1985 – The madman with the violin case
1986 – The Little Shop of Horrors
1986 – TV: The Birthday Boy
1986 – Salvador
1986 – Again like last night
1986 – Jumpin” Jack Flash
1987 – Number One With A Bullet
1987 – True Men
1987 – The Principal – One against all
1988 – Red Heat
1989 – My cold-faced partner
1989 – Homer and Eddie
1990 – TV: Wedding Band
1990 – Mr Destiny
1990 – Trouble with Eduard
1990 – Forget Palermo
1991 – Abraxas
1991 – Filofax
1991 – Mom, me and the two of us
1991 – Nobody gets out of here alive
1991 – Curly Sue – A curly head causes a stir
1992 – Traces of Red
1992 – Once upon a time there was a murder – 7 crooks and a dachshund
1993 – Last Action Hero
1994 – Royce
1994 – TV: Parallel Lives
1995 – TV: Sahara – The Desert of Death
1995 – Destiny
1995 – Our Hostile Neighbors
1995 – Deadly Double Life
1996 – Nine
1996 – A promise is a promise
1996 – Race the Sun – A Race Against Time
1997 – Retroactive – Trapped in Time
1997 – Mighty Ducks The Movie
1998 – Wage The Dog
1998 – Justice
1999 – My partner with the cold muzzle II.
2000 – Back to you
2001 – Joe Everyman
2001 – Jim Again (Series)
2002 – One Way Out
2002 – My partner with the cold muzzle III.
2006 – Beastly Wild (dubbing)
2006 – The Little Red Riding Hood Conspiracy (dubbing)
How much did Jim Belushi make for According to Jim?
The tale of how Jim Belushi went from one of Hollywood’s top-earning actors — at his peak, he was making $500,000 an episode on According to Jim, which ran for eight seasons on ABC — to Southern Oregon pot farmer begins with a baptism.
Is Belushi an Albanian?
Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Agnes Belushi, a first generation Albanian-American, and Adam Belushi, an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of sixteen.
Who was John Belushi’s bodyguard?
Chuck Norris’ opponent in the finale fight was ‘Bill “Superfoot’ Wallace’ who was also John Belushi’s bodyguard. In real life, Wallace was the one who discovered Belushi’s body after his drug overdose.