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Dan Aykroyd

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Biography

One of the most vibrant comic personalities of the 1970s and '80s, as well as a noted actor and screenwriter, Dan Aykroyd got his professional start in his native Canada. Before working as a stand-up comedian in various Canadian nightclubs, Aykroyd studied at a Catholic seminary from which he was later expelled; he then worked as a train brakeman, a surveyor, and studied sociology at Carleton University in Ottawa, where he began writing and performing comedy sketches. His success as a comic in school led him to work with the Toronto branch of the famed Second City improvisational troupe.

During this time-- while he was also managing the hot nightspot Club 505 on the side--Aykroyd met comedian and writer John Belushi, who had come to Toronto to scout new talent for "The National Lampoon Radio Hour." In 1975, both Aykroyd and Belushi were chosen to appear in the first season of Canadian producer Lorne Michael's innovative comedy television series Saturday Night Live. It was as part of the show that Aykroyd gained notoriety for his dead-on impersonations of presidents Nixon and Carter. He also won fame for his other characters, such as Beldar, the patriarch of the Conehead clan of suburban aliens, and Elwood Blues, the second half of the Blues Brothers (Jake Blues was played by Belushi).

Aykroyd made his feature-film debut in 1977 in the Canadian comedy Love at First Sight, but neither it nor his subsequent film, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, were successful. His first major Hollywood screen venture was as a co-lead in Spielberg's 1941 (1979). Aykroyd still did not earn much recognition until 1980, when he and Belushi reprised their popular SNL characters in The Blues Brothers, a terrifically successful venture that managed to become both one of the most often-quoted films of the decade and a true cult classic. Aykroyd and Belushi went on to team up one more time for Neighbor's (1981) before Belushi's death in 1982. Aykroyd's subsequent films in the 1980s ranged from the forgettable to the wildly successful, with all-out comedies like Ghostbusters (1984) and Dragnet (1987) falling into the latter category. Many of these films allowed him to collaborate with some of Hollywood's foremost comedians, including fellow SNL alumni Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Eddie Murphy, as well as Tom Hanks and the late John Candy. In such pairings, Aykroyd usually played the straight man, typically an uptight intellectual, or latent psycho. He tried his hand at drama in 1989 as Jessica Tandy's son in Driving Miss Daisy and for his efforts won an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

During the 1990s, Aykroyd's career began to falter as he appeared in one disappointment after another. Although there were successes like My Girl (1991), Chaplin (1992), Casper (1995) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) and Antz (1998), the all-out flops, like The Coneheads (1993) Exit to Eden (1994) and Sgt. Bilko (1996) were plentiful. Likewise, the long-awaited Blues Brothers sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) proved to be a great disappointment. However, Aykroyd continued to maintain a screen profile, starring as Kirk Douglas' son in the family drama Diamonds in 1999. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Bright Young Things (2003) .... Lord Monomark
Unconditional Love (2002) .... Max Beasley
Saturday Night Live: TV Tales (2002) (TV) .... Himself (archive footage)
SNL Remembers John Belushi (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Crossroads (2002) .... Pete Wagner
Devil and Daniel Webster, The (2001) .... Julius Jenson
Earth vs. the Spider (2001) (TV) .... Detective Insp. Jack Grillo
On the Nose (2001)
Frank Truth, The (2001) .... Himself (actor)
Curse of the Jade Scorpion, The (2001) .... Chris Magruder
... aka Im Bann des Jade Skorpions (2001) (Germany)
Evolution (2001) .... Governor Lewis
Pearl Harbor (2001) .... Capt. Thurman
... aka Pearl Harbour (2001) (UK: promotional title)
Bob the Butler (2000) .... Bob
Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 (2000) (TV)(archive footage) .... Richard Nixon/Jimmy Carter
House of Mirth, The (2000) .... Charles Augustus (Gus) Trenor
... aka Chez les heureux du monde (2001) (France)
... aka Haus Bellomont (2001) (Germany)
Loser (2000) .... Mr. Tanneck
... aka Loser, The (2000) (USA)
Stardom (2000) .... Barry Levine
... aka 15 Moments (2000) (Canada: English title)
... aka Stardom (2000) (France)
Ghostbusters 1999 (1999) (V) .... Himself/Dr. Raymond Stantz
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live Christmas (1999) (V) .... Various
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Steve Martin (1999) (TV) .... Beldar Conehead/Danny M125/Various
Diamonds (1999) .... Lance Agensky
Ghostbusters' SFX Team Featurette (1999) (V) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies (1998) (V) .... Danny M125
Susan's Plan (1998) .... Bob
... aka Dying to Get Rich (2000) (USA: video title)
Antz (1998)(voice) .... Chip
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) .... Elwood Blues
Michael Jackson: HIStory on Film - Volume II (1997) (V) .... Himself (Liberian Girl video)
"Soul Man" (1997) TV Series .... Rev. Mike Weber
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) .... Mr. Grocer
Arrow, The (1997) (TV) .... Crawford Gordon
... aka Projet arrow (1997) (TV) (Canada: French title)
Making of '1941', The (1996) (V) .... Himself
My Fellow Americans (1996) .... Vice President/President William Haney
"Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal" (1996) TV Series .... Host
Feeling Minnesota (1996) .... Ben Costikyan
Celtic Pride (1996) .... Jimmy Flaherty
Getting Away with Murder (1996) .... Jack Lambert
Sgt. Bilko (1996) .... Col. John Hall (CO, Fort Baxter)
... aka Sergeant Bilko (1996)
American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg, The (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Rainbow (1995) .... Sheriff Wyatt Hampton
Random Factor, The (1995)(voice) .... Dexter
Kelsey Grammer Salutes Jack Benny (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Canadian Bacon (1995)(uncredited) .... Highway Patrolman
Casper (1995)(uncredited) .... Dr. Raymond Stantz
Tommy Boy (1995) .... Ray Zalinsky
Century of Cinema, A (1994) .... Himself
Exit to Eden (1994) .... Fred Lavery
North (1994) .... Pa Tex
My Girl 2 (1994) .... Harry Sultenfuss
Best of the Blues Brothers, The (1993) (V) .... Elwood Blues/Himself
Coneheads (1993) .... Beldar Conehead/Donald R. DeCicco
Chaplin (1992) .... Mack Sennett
... aka Charlot (1992) (Italy)
Sneakers (1992) .... Mother
This Is My Life (1992) .... Arnold Moss
Two-Fisted Tales (1991) (TV) .... (segment "Yellow")
My Girl (1991) .... Harry Sultenfuss
Nothing But Trouble (1991) .... Judge Alvin 'J.P' Valkenheiser & Bobo
Earth Day Special (1990) (TV) .... Himself
Life of Python (1990) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Life of Python: Monty Python 20th Anniversary Omnibus (1990) (TV) (UK)
Masters of Menace (1990) .... Johnny Lewis
Loose Cannons (1990) .... Ellis Fielding
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) .... Boolie Werthan, Owner Werthan Industries
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversay (1989) (TV) .... Himself
Ghostbusters II (1989) .... Dr. Raymond Stantz
My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) .... Steven Mills
Caddyshack II (1988) .... Capt. Tom Everett
Great Outdoors, The (1988) .... Roman
She's Having a Baby (1988)(uncredited) .... Cameo appearance (Roman from 'The Great Outdoors')
Couch Trip, The (1988) .... John Burns
Dragnet (1987) .... Joe Friday
Best of Dan Aykroyd, The (1986) (V) .... Himself/Highlighted Characters
Best of John Belushi, The (1985) (V) .... Himself/Various Characters
Spies Like Us (1985) .... Austin Millbarge
Into the Night (1985) .... Herb
We Are the World: The Video Event (1985) (V) .... Himself
Nothing Lasts Forever (1984) .... Buck Heller
MTV 1st Annual Video Music Awards (1984) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Ghost Busters (1984) .... Dr. Raymond Stantz
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) .... Weber
Coneheads, The (1983) (TV)(voice) .... Beldar
Doctor Detroit (1983) .... Clifford Skridlow
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) .... Passenger/Ambulance Driver (Prologue/Segment #4)
Trading Places (1983) .... Louis Winthorpe III
It Came from Hollywood (1982) .... Himself
Neighbors (1981) .... Vic
Blues Brothers, The (1980) .... Elwood Blues
Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979) .... Jack Lord priest/Himself
1941 (1979) .... Sgt. Frank Tree
Rutles, The (1978) (TV) .... Brian Thigh, Ex-Record producer who turned down the Rutles
... aka All You Need Is Cash (1978) (TV) (USA)
Things We Did Last Summer (1977) (TV) .... Elwood Blues
Love at First Sight (1977/I) .... Roy
... aka At First Sight (1977)
... aka Love Is Blind (1977)
"Coming Up Rosie" (1975) TV Series .... Purvis Bickle (1975-76)
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1975-1979)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (1975) (USA)
... aka "SNL 25" (2000) (USA: new title)
... aka "SNL" (1975)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 80" (1980) (USA: new title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (1975)
Gift of Winter, The (1974) (TV)(voice) .... Goodly, Rotten, Maple

Links

Contact

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Los Angeles, CA 90035
USA