John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and musician, and one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). Throughout his career, Belushi had a personal and artistic partnership with his fellow SNL star Dan Aykroyd, whom he met while they were both working at Chicago‘s Second City comedy club.

Born in Chicago to Albanian American parents, Belushi started his own comedy troupe with Tino Insana and Steve Beshekas, called “The West Compass Trio”. After being discovered by Bernard Sahlins, he performed with The Second City and met Aykroyd, Brian Doyle-Murray and Harold Ramis.

In 1975, Belushi was recommended to SNL creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels by Chevy Chase and Michael O’Donoghue, who accepted Belushi as a new cast member of the show after an audition.

In his personal life, Belushi struggled with heavy drug use that threatened his comedy career; he was dismissed and rehired at SNL on several occasions due to his behavior. In 1982, Belushi died from combined drug intoxication possibly caused by Cathy Smith, who injected him with a mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a speedball at the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood, California. He was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. Belushi had managed to refrain from drug use for a brief period in 1981, but severely relapsed during the production of Neighbors. Less than four months after the shoot, the day before he died, he visited his long-time manager Bernie Brillstein and asked for money. Brillstein declined, strongly suspecting that Belushi wanted money for drugs. Later in the day, when Brillstein had another visitor, Belushi returned and again asked for money. Brillstein complied, reluctant to rebuke Belushi in front of another person. In the early morning hours on the day of his death, Belushi was visited separately by friends Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, as well as Catherine Evelyn Smith. At approximately 12:00 pm PDT on Friday, March 5, 1982, Belushi’s fitness trainer and occasional bodyguard Bill Wallace arrived at Belushi’s bungalow at the Chateau Marmont to deliver a typewriter and audiocassette recorder because Belushi had requested them the previous day. Wallace found Belushi dead, with no one else present in the bungalow. The cause of death was combined drug intoxication involving cocaine and heroin, a drug combination known as a speedball. Belushi’s death was investigated by forensic pathologist Michael Baden, among others, and while the findings were disputed, it was officially ruled a drug-related accident.