John Adam Belushi ( bə-LOO-shee; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and musician. He was one of seven Saturday Night Live cast members of the first season, and was arguably the most popular member of the Saturday Night Live ensemble. Belushi had a partnership with Dan Aykroyd; they had first met while at Chicago's the Second City comedy club, remaining together as cast members on the inaugural season of the Saturday Night Live television series.
Born in Chicago to Albanian-American parents, Belushi started his own comedy troupe with Tino Insana and Steve Beshekas, called "The West Compass Trio". Bernard Sahlins recruited him for The Second City comedy club. Once there he met Aykroyd, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Harold Ramis. In 1975, Chevy Chase and Michael O'Donoghue recommended Belushi to Saturday Night Live creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels, who accepted him as a new cast member of the show after an audition.