Dan Aykroyd Biography

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, (born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian comedian, singer, actor and screenwriter. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers (with John Belushi) and Ghostbusters, and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.

In 1990, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Driving Miss Daisy.

Early life

Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952, at the Ottawa General Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in the Canadian capital, where his father, Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer, worked as a policy adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. His mother, Lorraine Hélène (née Gougeon), was a secretary. His mother was of French Canadian descent and his father of English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, and French ancestry. His brother, Peter, also became a comedy actor. Aykroyd was born with syndactyly, or webbed toes, which was revealed in the movie Mr. Mike's Mondo Video and in a short film on Saturday Night Live titled "Don't Look Back In Anger." He was also born with heterochromia " his right eye is green and his left eye is brown.

Aykroyd was raised in the Catholic Church, and intended to become a priest until the age of seventeen. He attended St Pius X and St Patrick's. He went on to study criminology and sociology at Carleton University, but he eventually dropped out before completing his degree. He worked as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and ran an after-hours speakeasy, Club 505, in Toronto for several years.

Aykroyd's musical career was initially developed in Ottawa, particularly through his regular attendances at Le Hibou, a club that featured many blues artists. He describes these influences as follows:

...there was a little club there called Le Hibou, which in French means 'the owl'. And it was run by a gentleman named Harvey Glatt, and he brought every, and I mean every blues star that you or I would ever have wanted to have seen through Ottawa in the late '50s, well I guess more late '60s sort of, in around the Newport jazz rediscovery. I was going to Le Hibou and hearing James Cotton, Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, and Muddy Waters. I actually jammed behind Muddy Waters. S.P. Leary left the drum kit one night, and Muddy said 'anybody out there play drums? I don't have a drummer.' And I walked on stage and we started, I don't know, Little Red Rooster, something. He said 'keep that beat going, you make Muddy feel good.' And I heard Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett). Many, many times I saw Howlin' Wolf. As well as The Doors. And of course Buddy Guy, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. So I was exposed to all of these players, playing there as part of this scene to service the academic community in Ottawa, a very well-educated community. Had I lived in a different town I don't think that this would have happened, because it was just the confluence of educated government workers, and then also all the colleges in the area, Ottawa University, Carleton, and all the schools"?these people were interested in blues culture.

Dan Aykroyd was a member of the Second City comedy troupe in 1973 in both Toronto and Chicago

Saturday Night Live

Aykroyd gained fame on the American late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live, where he was a writer and the youngest cast member for its first four seasons, from 1975 to 1979. Aykroyd brought a unique sensibility to the show, combining youth, unusual interests, talent as an impersonator and an almost lunatic intensity. Guest host Eric Idle, of Monty Python, said that Aykroyd's ability to write and act out characters flawlessly made him the only member of the SNL cast capable of being a Python.

He was known for his impersonations of celebrities like Jimmy Carter, Vincent Price, Richard Nixon, Rod Serling, Tom Snyder, and others. He was also known for his recurring roles, such as Beldar, father in the Coneheads family; with Steve Martin, Georg Festrunk, one of the "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" Czech brothers; sleazy late-night cable TV host E. Buzz Miller and his cousin, corrupt maker of children's toys and costumes Irwin Mainway (who extolled the virtues and defended the safety of the "Bag-o-Glass" toy, perhaps the retail leader of the "Bag-o" series of toys); Fred Garvin " male prostitute; and high-bred but low-brow critic Leonard Pinth-Garnell. He also co-hosted the Weekend Update segment for a season with Jane Curtin, coining the famous catchphrase "Jane, you ignorant slut" during point-counterpoint segments.

Aykroyd's eccentric talent was recognized by others in the highly competitive SNL environment: when he first presented his famous "Super Bass-O-Matic '76" sketch, a fake T.V. commercial in which a garish, hyper pitchman (modelled after Ron Popeil) touts a food blender that turns an entire bass into liquid pulp, "to [other writers and cast members] the 'Bass-O-Matic' was so exhilaratingly strange that many remember sitting and listening, open-mouthed ... Nobody felt jealous of it because they couldn't imagine writing anything remotely like it."

While Aykroyd was a close friend and partner with fellow cast member John Belushi and shared some of the same sensibilities, Aykroyd was more reserved and less self-destructive. In 1977, he received an Emmy Award for writing on Saturday Night Live; he later received two more nominations for writing, and one each for acting and Outstanding Comedy-Variety series.

In later decades, Aykroyd made occasional guest appearances and unannounced cameos on Saturday Night Live, often impersonating the American politician Bob Dole. He would also bring back past characters including Irwin Mainway and Leonard Pinth-Garnell. During a couple of his guest appearances he resurrected the Blues Brothers musical act with frequent host John Goodman in place of Belushi. Finally in May 2003, he hosted the season finale of Saturday Night Live. During his monologue, he did a musical bit with James Belushi that was similar to the Blues Brothers, but neither Aykroyd nor Belushi donned the famous black suit and sunglasses. He became the second member of the original cast to host the show. On March 24, 2007, he made an appearance as a crying fan of American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar (played by Andy Samberg) during Weekend Update. On February 14, 2009, he made an appearance portraying U.S. House Minority leader John Boehner. Aykroyd also made a surprise SNL guest appearance, along with many SNL alumni, on the evening of March 9, 2013.

The Blues Brothers

See Blues Brothers for more information

Aykroyd was good friends with John Belushi. According to Aykroyd, it was his first meeting with Belushi that helped spark their popular Blues Brothers act. When they met in a club Aykroyd frequented, Aykroyd put on a blues record to play in the background, and it stimulated a fascination with blues in Belushi, who was primarily a fan of heavy rock bands at the time. Aykroyd educated Belushi on the finer points of blues music and, with a little encouragement from then-SNL music director Paul Shaffer, it led to the creation of their Blues Brothers characters.

Backed by such experienced professional R&B sidemen as lead guitarist Steve Cropper, sax man Lou Marini, trumpeter Alan Rubin and bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn, the Blues Brothers proved more than an SNL novelty. Taking off with the public as a legitimate musical act, they performed live gigs and released the hit album Briefcase Full of Blues in 1978, and were further popularized in a 1980 film. The Blues Brothers Band continues to tour today, featuring original members Cropper and Marini, along with vocalist Eddie Floyd.

Early in the incarnation of the Blues Brothers, Belushi joined the Grateful Dead on stage on April 2, 1980, for a rendition of "Good Morning Little School Girl" at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, N.J. (coinciding with the Dead performing on SNL that weekend). Belushi sang the part usually carried by the late Dead band member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.

Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers back in the early days of the band. Belushi and Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while fellow Blues Brother Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. Whenever they needed a bass player, they were joined by another Blues Brother, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper along with producing partner and Cherokee owner Bruce Robb worked on a number of music projects with the two comedians/musicians, including Belushi's favourite band Fear and later Aykroyd's movie Dragnet.

Aykroyd and Belushi were scheduled to present the Academy Award for Visual Effects in 1982, but Belushi died only a few weeks prior to the ceremony. Though devastated by his friend's death, Aykroyd presented the award alone, remarking from the stage "My partner would have loved to have been here to present this, given that he was something of a visual effect himself." Not a few years before, when he and Belushi were making an appearance on the Today show, he referred to them as "kindred spirits." In the biography "Belushi", Aykroyd claims that Belushi was the only man he could ever dance with.

In 1992, Aykroyd, along with many other notable music and Hollywood personalities, founded the House of Blues. Its mission is to promote African-American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. From 2004 until its sale to Live Nation in 2007, it was the second-largest live music promoter in the world, with seven venues and 22 amphitheaters in the United States and Canada. Aykroyd also contributes his voice to the weekly House of Blues Radio Hour, which he hosts in the character of Elwood Delaney aka Elwood Blues. This show is hosted in the United Kingdom (from 16 July 2012) on Jazz FM.

Today, the Blues Brothers still tour. Aykroyd still performs as Elwood back with Belushi's younger brother James Belushi, who plays "Brother Zee" on stage. They are almost always backed by The Sacred Hearts Band.

Other work

Concurrent with his work in Saturday Night Live, Aykroyd played the role of Purvis Bickle, lift operator at the fictitious office block 99 Sumach Street in the CBC Television series Coming Up Rosie.

After leaving Saturday Night Live, Aykroyd starred in a number of films (mostly comedies), with uneven results both commercially and artistically. He co-starred with Belushi in three films, 1941, which was his American feature-film debut, The Blues Brothers, and Neighbors. One of his best-received performances was as a blueblood-turned-wretch in the 1983 comic drama Trading Places; a notable flop was in the earlier 1941. (Director Steven Spielberg received the brunt of the criticism, but Aykroyd's performance as an Army Sergeant was badly uneven being played alternately straight or completely manic with little reason for the changes..)

Aykroyd originally wrote the role of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984) with Belushi in mind, but rewrote the part for Bill Murray after Belushi died. Aykroyd used to joke that the green ghost (who would later come to be known as "Slimer") was "the ghost of John Belushi," based on the similar party animal personality. Ghostbusters became a huge success for Aykroyd as a co-creator, co-writer, and one of the lead actors; the film's inspiration came from Aykroyd's fascination with parapsychology. Aykroyd literally believes in ghosts and the busting of them. Aykroyd participated in the recording of "We Are the World" in 1985.

Aykroyd was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy. He was the second SNL cast member to be nominated for an Oscar, the first being Joan Cusack. (Randy Quaid also received an Academy Award nomination before either of them, but that was before he became a cast member.)

Aykroyd's directorial debut was 1991's Nothing but Trouble. It starred Demi Moore, Chevy Chase, John Candy and Aykroyd sporting an oddly phallic prosthetic nose. The film was a critical and box office flop. Other films that starred Aykroyd in the 1990s included Exit to Eden, Blues Brothers 2000, and Getting Away with Murder; these were also poorly received. One of the rare exceptions was a well received role as a rival hit man in 1997's Grosse Point Blank. In 1995, Aykroyd played the role of Ray Zalinsky in Tommy Boy.

In 1994, Aykroyd made a guest appearance in an episode of the sitcom The Nanny as a refrigerator repairman. In 1997, Aykroyd starred in a short-lived sitcom on ABC called Soul Man. The show lasted one season. In the 2000s, Aykroyd's film appearances have tended to be small character parts in big-budget productions, such as a signals analyst in Pearl Harbor and a neurologist in 50 First Dates. In 2001, Aykroyd starred in the Woody Allen film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

In February 2007, Aykroyd revealed that he would be providing voice-acting for a Ghostbusters III CGI project, though these rumours were clarified later on, that the CGI project was a next-gen video game that was currently in production. In 2009, Aykroyd along with Harold Ramis, wrote and appeared in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which also featured Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Brian Doyle-Murray. On June 14, 2009, GameStop used an outgoing phone message pre-recorded by Aykroyd to invite pre-order customers to the launch event at 10 p.m.

Aykroyd wrote the liner notes for fellow Ottawa born blues musician JW-Jones' album Bluelisted in 2008.

In 2009, Aykroyd contributed a series of reminiscences on his upbringing in Canada for a charity album titled Dan Aykroyd's Canada.

Most recently, Aykroyd and Chevy Chase guest starred in the Family Guy episode "Spies Reminiscent of Us." (The two had co-starred in the film Spies Like Us, another film in which Aykroyd had hopes, which Belushi's death dashed, that John Belushi would co-star with him.) He also hosts the nationally-syndicated radio show House of Blues Radio Hour under his Blues Brothers moniker Elwood Blues.

Aykroyd appeared in two February 2011 episodes of CBS' The Defenders. which starred Jim Belushi. This information was announced November 29, 2010. He also appeared on Top Chef Canada as a guest judge.

Aykroyd announced in February 2012 that Bill Murray was not going to appear in Ghostbusters III and said that at this point the film was indefinitely suspended. Aykroyd said Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis felt there had to be a way to do it without Murray.

On March 20, 2012, Aykroyd said he is about to work on a script for a comedy that would also star Chevy Chase. It would be the first time Aykroyd and Chase have appeared together onscreen since 1991's Nothing But Trouble.

Personal life

Aykroyd is a permanent resident of the United States. He maintains his Canadian citizenship. In 1983, he married actress Donna Dixon, with whom he starred in the movies Doctor Detroit, Spies Like Us, and The Couch Trip. They have three daughters. He maintains his Canadian roots as a longtime resident of Sydenham, Ontario, with his estate on Loughborough Lake.

Aykroyd described himself (in a radio interview with Terry Gross) as having mild Tourette syndrome that was successfully treated with therapy when he was a preteen, as well as mild Asperger syndrome.

He is a former reserve commander for the police department in Harahan, Louisiana, working for Chief of Police Peter Dale. Aykroyd would carry his badge with him at all times.

Aykroyd is the co-founder and part owner of Crystal Head Vodka, the official vodka of The Rolling Stones. He is also part owner of several wineries in the Niagara region and the company that distributes Patron tequila in Canada.

Aykroyd helped Dale start the Blue Line Foundation. They are redeveloping flood damaged lots in New Orleans and helping first responders buy them at reduced prices. Coastal Blue Line LLC, hopes to eventually rebuild 400 properties in New Orleans.

In a recent radio interview with the Hill-Man Morning show, Aykroyd said if he could forget one film he did it would be Exit to Eden.

Beliefs

Aykroyd considers himself a Spiritualist, stating that:

I am a Spiritualist, a proud wearer of the Spiritualist badge. Mediums and psychic research have gone on for many, many years... Loads of people have seen spirits, heard a voice or felt the cold temperature. I believe that they are between here and there, that they exist between the fourth and fifth dimension, and that they visit us frequently.

His great-grandfather, a dentist, was a mystic who corresponded with author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on the subject of Spiritualism, and who was a member of the Lily Dale Society.

Other than Spiritualism, Aykroyd is also interested in various other aspects of the paranormal, particularly UFOlogy. He is a lifetime member of and official Hollywood consultant for the Mutual UFO Network. In 2005, Aykroyd produced a DVD titled, Dan Aykroyd: Unplugged on UFOs. In it, he is interviewed for 80 minutes by UFOlogist David Sereda where he discusses in depth every aspect of the UFO phenomenon, and reveals specifically that they are blue, not green, but appear that way because of a filter.

On September 29, 2009, Peter Aykroyd, father of Dan Aykroyd, published a book entitled, A History of Ghosts. This book chronicled the family's historical involvement in the Spiritualist Movement, to which Aykroyd readily refers. Aykroyd wrote the introduction and accompanied his father on a series of promotional activities, including launches in New York City and Toronto, an appearance on Larry King Live and various other public relations initiatives. Aykroyd also read the introduction for the audio version of the book.

Honors

He has been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 1994, Aykroyd received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Carleton University. In 1998, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Aykroyd also received a dubious honour in 1997, when the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal awarded him the Snuffed Candle award, for "contributing to the public's lack of understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry." CSICOP did this in response to Aykroyd's program Psi Factor.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Love at First Sight	Roy
1979	Mr. Mike's Mondo Video	Jack Lord Priest/ himself
1979	1941	Sgt. Frank Tree
1980	'	Elwood Blues	Also writer
1981	Neighbors	Vic
1982	It Came from Hollywood	Himself
1983	Doctor Detroit	Clifford Skridlow/ Doctor Detroit
1983	Trading Places	Louis Winthorpe III
1983	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Passenger/ Ambulance Driver
1984	Ghostbusters	Dr. Raymond Stantz	Also writer
1984	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Art Weber
1984	Nothing Lasts Forever	Buck Heller
1985	Into the Night	Herb
1985	Spies Like Us	Austin Millbarge	Also writer
1987	Dragnet	Sgt. Joe Friday
1988	Caddyshack II	Capt. Tom Everett
1988	'	John W. Burns, Jr.
1988	'	Roman Craig
1988	She's Having a Baby	Roman Craig	Uncredited cameo
1988	My Stepmother Is an Alien	Steven Mills
1989	"Liberian Girl"	Cameo	Music video by Michael Jackson
1989	Driving Miss Daisy	Boolie Werthan	Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1989	Ghostbusters II	Dr. Raymond Stantz	Also writer
1990	Loose Cannons	Ellis Fielding
1990	Masters of Menace	Johnny Lewis
1991	My Girl	Harry Sultenfuss
1991	Nothing but Trouble	Judge Alvin Valkenheiser/ Bobo	Also director/writer
1992	Chaplin	Mack Sennett
1992	Sneakers	Mother
1992	This Is My Life	Arnold Moss
1993	Coneheads	Beldar Conehead	Also writer
1994	'	Himself	Documentary
1994	Exit to Eden	Fred Lavery
1994	My Girl 2	Harry Sultenfuss
1994	North	Pa Tex
1995	Canadian Bacon	OPP Officer	Uncredited
1995	Casper	Dr. Raymond Stantz	Uncredited
1995	'	Dexter	Voice only
1995	Tommy Boy	Ray Zalinsky "The Auto Parts King"
1996	Rainbow	Sheriff Wyatt Hampton
1996	Celtic Pride	Jimmy Flaherty
1996	Feeling Minnesota	Det. Ben Costikyan
1996	My Fellow Americans	President William Haney
1996	Getting Away with Murder	Jack Lambert
1996	Sgt. Bilko	Colonel John T. Hall
1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	Grocer
1998	Antz	Chip	Voice only
1998	Blues Brothers 2000	Elwood Blues	Also writer/producer
1998	Susan's Plan	Bob
1999	Diamonds	Lance Agensky
2000	'	Gus Trenor
2000	Loser	Dad
2000	Stardom	Barry Levine
2001	'	Chris Magruder
2001	Evolution	Governor Lewis
2001	'	Himself	Documentary
2001	On the Nose	Dr. Barry Davis
2001	Pearl Harbor	Capt. Thurman
2002	Crossroads	Pete Wagner
2002	Unconditional Love	Max Beasly
2003	Bright Young Things	Lord Monomark
2004	Christmas with the Kranks	Vic Frohmeyer
2004	Shortcut to Happiness	Julius Jenson
2004	50 First Dates	Dr. Keats
2004	Intern Academy	Dr. Cyrill Kipp
2007	I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry	Captain Tucker
2008	War, Inc.	Mr. Vice President
2010	Yogi Bear	Yogi Bear	Voice only
2012	The Campaign	Wade Motch
2012	The Ultimate Sacrifice	Narrator
2013	Behind the Candelabra	Seymour Heller
2014	Tammy		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	First episode	Notes
1974	'	Goodly/Rotten/Maple	n/a	Voice only
1975	Coming Up Rosie	Purvis Bickle	unknown
1975"79	Saturday Night Live	Various	"Episode 1.1"	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program (1977, nominated 1978"79) Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (1978)
1976	'	Cop	n/a	Also writer
1978	All You Need Is Cash	Brian Thigh
1986"91	'			Creator
1990	'	Various	"Episode 1.2"	1 episode
1990	It's Garry Shandling's Show	Boolie Shandling	"Driving Miss Garry"	1 episode
1991	Tales from the Crypt	Captain Mulligan	"Yellow"	1 episode
1994	'	Repair Man	"Sunday in the Park with Fran"	1 episode
1995	Kesley Grammar Salutes Jack Benny	Himself		Special
1996" 2000	Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal	Host	"John Doe"	88 episodes
1997	'	Crawford Gordon	n/a	Also creative consultant
1997	Home Improvement	Rev. Mike Walker	"Losing My Religion"	1 episode
1997	Soul Man	Rev. Mike Weber	"Grabbed by an Angel"	25 episodes
2001	Earth vs. the Spider	Det. Insp. Jack Grillo	n/a
2001	History's Mysteries	Narrator	"The Children's Crusade"	1 episode
2002	According to Jim	Danny Michalsky	"Old Friends"	5 episodes
2009	Family Guy	Himself	"Spies Reminiscent of Us"	1 episode
2009	X-Play	Himself	"Quit Givin' Me the Bug Eye, Valkyrie"	1 episode
2011	'	Judge Max Hunter	"Nevada v. Doug the Mule"	2 episodes

Guest appearances on SNL

Date	Episode number	Host/ Musical guest	Role
	13.11	Justine Bateman/ Terence Trent D'Arby	Bob Dole
	18.20	Kevin Kline/ Willie Nelson and Paul Simon	Bob Dole
	20.16	John Goodman/ The Tragically Hip	Bob Dole, Elwood Blues, Irwin Mainway, Tom Snyder, Rush Limbaugh, Robert Stack, miner
	23.14	John Goodman/ Paula Cole	Bob Dole, Elwood Blues, Irwin Mainway, Ernesto
	24.1	Cameron Diaz/ The Smashing Pumpkins	Yortuk Festrunk
	27.4	John Goodman/ Ja Rule	Dr. Keith Vester, Elwood Blues, Leonard Pinth-Garnell
	27.12	Britney Spears	Mormon, Judge Lindenwell
	28.14	Queen Latifah/ Ms. Dynamite	Bob Dole
	28.20	Aykroyd/ Beyoncé	Andrew Card, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Donnie "The Finger" Dabinski, biker, Esteban, chief science officer, Butch, Sam Elliott
	32.16	Peyton Manning/ Carrie Underwood	Himself
	34.16	Alec Baldwin/ The Jonas Brothers	John Boehner
	38.16	Justin Timberlake	Himself, Yortuk Festrunk

See also

• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
• Saturday Night Live cast members