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Jim Belushiis perched on a shoeshine stand near his hotel in downtown Philadelphia.
Their first show is in four hours.
Improv isnt something you turn on and off like a spigot.
I feel like a dummy right now, he says.
Despite this time away from the stage, Belushi has stayed busy.
One of 2020s few bright spots was seeing your request for anime recommendations go viral.
How is the binge-watch going?I watch them with my son.
We have a ball.
I did one many, many years ago,My Neighbors the Yamadas.
Any anime fans out there?
What is out there?
Cmon, some of you guys have to be nerds.
Garry Marshall was the one that started it.
Then they brought me back the next year forWorking Stiffswith Michael Keaton.
Penny Marshall directedWorking Stiffs.
Penny was a good friend of mine, until she passed.
She welcomed me into Hollywood.
John called her, because I was on the Paramount lot.
[Impersonating John:] Take care of my brother, keep an eye on him.
So my first taping, she walks in with Rob Reiner: Hello, Im Penny.
Your brother wants me to check that youre all right.
You didThief, which came out a year afterBlues Brothers.
Did you ever talk to John about making these two definitive Chicago movies?
How do you get cast in the first place?1980.
It was just an audition.
I happened to be doingBalat the Goodman Theatre, a pretty high-status regional theater.
Maybe that had something to do with it.
[John and I] would watch the Bears game together on the phone.
He kept saying, Nah nah, not yet.
Im going to go see it.
I hear its good.
He was too busy, man.
I was sitting on top of a mountain in Julian, California.
My dads little ranch.
Steeped in grief, depression.
He called and flew me to New York.
Every weekend had a snowstorm in New York.
We were supposed to do the outdoor train scene on a Friday night in Jersey.
So I got per diem and salary every week.
Got to hang out in a snowstorm in New York.
Plus the more they did that, the more residuals you get.
So Ive been getting residuals fromTrading Placestill today.
It wasa benefit to raise moneyfor the John Belushi Scholarship Fund.
He said: I think Jims ready.
Dick listened to him because they were partners.
Everybody told me not to do it.
Why join the show?Id talked to John about it.
He said, Why would you want to be onSaturday Night Live?
We captured the hearts of America.
No one willeverdo that.
I said, John, cmon.
I went to Second City.
You went to Second City.
Danny was at Second City.
Gilda was at Second City.
I want to do it because its a natural progression for a Second City actor.
He said, Eh, youre crazy.
I was a fan of the show.
It was close to our heart because guys that we knew were the ones that created it.
So I wanted to be there too.
Your first episode onSNLwas with John Candy, and you were practically a co-host.
What do you wanna do?
Itsyourshow, Im here to help you.
Well, Id like you to doJohnny LaRue.
They all got in, first show.
All Johnny, Johnny loving me.
What was your crew atSNL?
Its so notoriously cliquish.I was on the outside.
Believe it or not, in the last two days, Ive realized something: Ivealwaysbeen on the outside.
You met Eddie Murphy on the set ofTrading Places.
He handled his fame so well.
I said to him, Are you all right with all this?
Because it killed my brother.
He said, Im good, Jim.
Im so happy for him and his whole career.
He was always a gentleman to me.
And he did the best James Brown impression Ive ever seen!
You were the first cast member to be fired, then rehired.
It was the best thing to ever happen to me.
I was out of my mind.
I survived it, barely.
I went back to him with my tail between my legs.
I drop the ego, I got humble.
I stopped drinking the rest of that season.
John did four years and he quit.
I said, What the fuck, man?
What are you quitting for?
He said, Jim, its like high school: Senior year, youve got to move on.
Then I didnt come back because Lorne [Michaels] came.
I came back; I begged [him] for forgiveness, and he put me on probation.
My wife at the time said, You thrive on probation.
You were on probation from freshman to senior year of high school.
You operate better with boundaries.
Which meant my career took off and she didnt get half.
And then,Salvadorcomes out.
Oliver and Jimmy get nominated for Academy Awards.
I ran into Tom Hanks and Jane Fonda, and they both voted for me for Supporting Actor.
But Hanks voted forAbout Last Night, and Jane Fonda voted forSalvador.
So I split votes that whole year, and never got nominated.
I was like,Damn!
I almost got in!
I know youve called yourself an outsider, yet you did something like five movies with John Candy.
There must be something to that.Well, Danny and John [Candy] are my brothers.
If theres anything you need, we will be watching you.
And, you know, you say those kinds of things, but these two men?
They took really good care of me.
YourTaking Care of Businessco-starCharles Grodin recently died.
What was it like working with him?Charles Grodin was the comic actors actor.
He worked with Elaine May, who started the Second City with Mike Nichols.
He captured everything we learned onstage and about improvisation.
I was a little bit childlike to work with him, like shooting baskets with Michael Jordan.
The great thing about working with him was he was relentless with details.
The ideas, going back and forth, honing each beat.
Were you aware of his fame when he was cast?I cracked that fucking guy up, man.
I said, I rapped before you were rapping!
I rapped onSaturday Night Livein 1983, man, I was doing Grandmaster Flash.
So dont give me any rap shit.
I did White Guy Rap for him, and he laughed his ass off.
We had a really good time.
He was just blooming as an actor.
I am curious about your new role cultivating cannabis.
Is this your first experience owning a business?No, Ive been in a couple of failed businesses.
You have 93 acres on the Banana Belt in Oregon.
He ended up owning three high-end steak houses.
He was a tough guy, and he started that way, but built up.
When John and I worked for him, we were putting white tablecloths down.
But I learned everything I do from the restaurant business.
There was a period where shows likeFamily GuyorThe Simpsonsmade the Jim Belushi joke.
What do you make of that?I love it.
I thought all that was funny.
Well, there was a shift inme.
Ive had five lives, and three wives.
Ive done comedies and dramas and Broadway and improv shows and Blues Brothers.
This plant and this farm has shifted me.
That was the guy I was, but is that the guy I am today?
I wouldnt have it any other way.
Your career spans five decades.
How have you been able to stay afloat?Theres a lot of ignorance involved.
Ive always been the guy that says, Lets try it!
I never turn gigs down.
One gig led to another, led to another.
The real thing is and its very good for acting Im very present.
Its not very good for relationships, but its been good for [the] career.
Whats the future hold for the Blues Brothers?We are talking about it right now!
We are presently talking with House of Blues about setting up a tour for next spring.
We would film it and make a little documentary on it.
