Jim Belushi is sharing fond memories of The Blues Brothers’ first appearance on Saturday Night Live.
On Sunday, Feb. 16, Belushi was among the stars and SNL alumni at NBC’s Studio 8H for the live taping of SNL50: The Anniversary Special, celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary. On the event’s red carpet, he described his late brother John Belushi and fellow founding SNL cast member Dan Aykroyd’s first on-air performance as their iconic characters as “magic.”
“When John and Danny entered that first time, nobody knew what was going to happen,” the actor and comedian, 70, told PEOPLE. “That cartwheel, boy, does my brother know how to make an entrance.”
Already known for his over-the-top physical comedy, John Belushi’s cartwheels became a signature part of his character “Joliet” Jake Blues’ entrances alongside Aykroyd’s silent harmonica player Elwood Blues. The pair developed their Blues Brothers characters following a January 1976 SNL episode in which they performed Slim Harpo’s “I’m a King Bee” while dressed in their “Killer Bee” sketch costumes.
The now iconic version of the characters in their fedoras and sunglasses first appeared on SNL in an April 1978 cold open, where they performed a cover of Willie Mabon and His Combo’s “I Don’t Know” with a full backing band.
But as John’s late wife Judy Belushi Pisano explained in last year’s Audible Original Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, The Blues Brothers sprang more from Belushi and Aykroyd’s love of music. “It wasn’t a bit exactly that they were doing,” Pisano said. “It’s often referred to, The Blues Brothers, as developed from a skit on Saturday Night Live. And, you know, that’s really just not true.”
In fact, Belushi and Aykroyd toured in character as The Blues Brothers with their backing band, releasing a 1978 album, Briefcase Full of Blues, that went double platinum. They also starred in a 1980 film based around the characters, which featured cameos and musical performances by R&B greats like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles.
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Following John Belushi’s tragic death in 1982, Jim Belushi began performing in his brother’s place as Zee Blues alongside Aykroyd, and even voiced the role of Jake Blues in an animated series based on the characters, which never aired. While Jim did not appear in the 1980 film’s sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), he did perform alongside Aykroyd and John Goodman in character during the 1997 Super Bowl halftime show.
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