James Belushi

Infobox actor

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caption = Belushi while working on a shoot for "POST K-9"
birthdate = birth date and age|1954|6|15
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
spouse = Jennifer Sloan (1998 - present) 2 children
Marjorie Bransfield (1990 - 1992; divorced)
Sandra Davenport (1980 - 1988; divorced) 1 child
deathdate =
birthname = James Adam Belushi
othername = "Funniest Living Belushi" [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-sun_phil_0701jul01,1,165843.column?coll=chi-ent_movies-hed Topic Galleries - chicagotribune.com ] ]
occupation = Film, television actor
homepage =

James Adam "Jim" Belushi (born June 15, 1954) is an American actor, comedian and musician, the younger brother of late comedian John Belushi. He currently stars in the sitcom "According to Jim".

Biography

Early life

Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Agnes B. (née Samaras), a first-generation Albanian American who worked as a cashier, and Adam Belushi, an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of fifteen. [ [http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/bios/John_Belushi.shtml NBC.com > Saturday Night Live > Bios ] ] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/John-Belushi.html John Belushi Biography (1949-1982) ] ] [Broyard, Anatole. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E2DD153BF931A35755C0A962948260 Books Of The Times; Close-Up Of John Belushi] , "The New York Times", 2 June 1984.] After graduating from Wheaton Central High School, Belushi attended the College of DuPage and graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Speech and Theater Arts.

Career

From 1977 to 1980 Belushi, like his older brother, John Belushi, worked with the Chicago theater group The Second City. During this period, Belushi made his television debut in the 1978's "Who's Watching the Kids" and also had a small part in Brian De Palma's "The Fury". His first significant role was in Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981). After his elder brother John's death, from 1983 to 1985, he appeared on "Saturday Night Live"; he portrayed characters such as Hank Rippy from "Hello, Trudy!", and "That White Guy". Belushi also appears in the film "Trading Places" as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party. Jim made a guest appearance in Faerie Tale Theatre's Third Season episode "Pinocchio" starring Paul Reubens as the titular puppet.

Belushi rose to greater prominence with his supporting roles in "Only the Lonely, About Last Night...", "Salvador", and "Little Shop of Horrors" (as Patrick Martin) (all 1986) which opened up opportunities for lead roles. He has starred in films including "Once Upon A Crime 1987; Real Men" (1987), "The Principal" (1987), "Red Heat" (1988), "Homer and Eddie", Joe Somebody (1989) "K-9" (1989) which starred a real life police dog from Kansas City, Missouri named "Rondo" (played as "Jerry Lee" and was later killed in police action in 1991) and produced two sequels that were released straight to video; "K-911" (1999) starring Mac, Sonto & Reno as "Jerry Lee" and "" (2002) starring King as "Jerry Lee", "Dimenticare Palermo" (1989), "Taking Care of Business" (1990), "Mr. Destiny" (1990), "Curly Sue" (1991), "Wild Palms" (1993), "Royce" (1994), "Race the Sun" (1996), "Retroactive" (1997), "Gang Related" (1997), and "Angel's Dance" (1999).

His voice work includes "The Mighty Ducks", "Babes in Toyland", Gargoyles, and "Hey Arnold!", and the more recent "Hoodwinked" and "The Wild". He also lended his vocal talents for (a PC game released in 1995), in which he portrayed 'Salty' a coarse yet helpful character. On January 4, 2001, Belushi appeared on the "ER" episode "Piece of Mind". The episode focused on both Dr. Mark Greene's life-or-death brain surgery in New York and Belushi's character, who had been in a car accident with his son in Chicago. Belushi's performance contributed to his reemergence in the public eye, and the following year he was cast as the titular role in ABC's "According to Jim". His first animation voice-over was as a pimple on Krum's head in "Ahhhh! Real Monsters" on Nickelodeon. That performance led him to be cast in the continuing role as Simon, the Monster Hunter, in that series where he ad-libbed much of his dialogue.

In 2003, Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released the album "Have Love, Will Travel", and participated in an accompanying tour. He also performs at various venues nationwide as Zee Blues in an updated version of The Blues Brothers. He had his first book released, "Real Men Don't Apologize, Real Women Don't Sass Back", in May, 2006.

Recently, Belushi was a narrator of an NFL offensive linemen commercial. Belushi also introduced the starting lineups for the University of Illinois football team during ABC's telecast of the 2008 Rose Bowl.

Personal life

Belushi has been married 3 times and has three children. He married Sandra Davenport on May 17, 1980 and had a son, Robert (born 1981), with her.

Filmography

Characters on "Saturday Night Live"

*Hank Rippy ("Hello, Trudy!")
*Man on the Street Jesse Donnelly
*That White Guy, a stereotypical Caucasian man who can rap

Celebrity impersonations

*Arnold Schwarzenegger
*Babe Ruth
*Bob Guccione
*Captain Kangaroo
*Hulk Hogan
*Joan Collins
*Michael Reagan
*Pope John Paul II
*Rosemary Clooney
*Thomas Noguchi
*Willie Nelson

References

External links

*imdb name|id = 0000902|name = James Belushi
*amg name|2:81321