Jim Belushi

By Jen Banowetz
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Returning to the COD stage

There are several obvious ways to describe Jim Belushi: actor, musician, dad, lifelong Cubs fan. 

His breakout roles was in 1986’s About Last Night, based on David Mamet’s play Sexual Perversity in Chicago, which Belushi previously had performed in at the Apollo Theater. Another Windy City movie—2000’s Return to Me, cowritten and directed by Bonnie Hunt—featured Belushi as a funny Chicago dad. That character, he says, helped him land the title role in ABC’s long-running comedy According to Jim, about, aptly, a suburban Chicago dad. Of course, his career has spanned many more characters, from a drunk guy in a gorilla suit (1983’s Trading Places) and a police detective (1988’s Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger) to a con man (1991’s Curly Sue by John Hughes) and band manager (2025’s Song Sung Blue with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson). He’s a Saturday Night Live alum and has a zillion credits as voice actor. He played Harry Brock in the 2011 Broadway of revival Born Yesterday (a play he also did in college).

Belushi credits his career success to his alma mater, the College of DuPage, which is why he and his band, The Sacred Hearts, will be headlining the McAninch Arts Center 40th Anniversary Gala Sept. 12 (onstage in the Belushi Performance Hall, naturally).

Q: How was growing up in Wheaton?

A: Well, considering I was the crime rate [in] Wheaton. All the stats, all the crime statistics were based on Belushi…I was delivering pizzas. [The cops] knew my car and used to stop me, and I went, “Come on, man! I’m making $1.75 an hour. Give me a break!’ ”

Q: What did you learn at COD?

A: The College of DuPage was [a major] conversion [for me]. Those guys—Richard Holgate, B.F. Johnson, Jodie Briggs, James Collie—those men and women saw something in me that I didn’t see. And they converted me from this small-time criminal in Wheaton to an actor. They believed in me, they cast me in everything. I got more experience at the College of DuPage than if I went to a four-year school. I love COD.

And, you know, when you drink the water, remember the men and women who dug the well. Those men and women at COD dug the well for me to drink today.

I did speech programs there and  theater programs, singing, choir. I was assistant to the tech director, I built sets, I hung lights, I stage managed. It was an immersive study, and when I went down to Southern [Illinois University]—you know, you go to a four-year school as an actor, you might get one good role in four years. At COD I was starring in all the shows. I was a pro by the time I got to the university…COD converted my life, those men and women, and I’ve been loyal to them ever since.

Q: Any advice for someone who wants to go into show biz?

A: Stay out. It’s brutal. Keep delivering pizzas…My daughter [Jamison Belushi] is going to be opening [for us] at the MAC, great songwriter, singer, actress. Terrific…Anyway, like all actors, you always experience self-doubt: “I’m not that good. Look how good Leo DiCaprio is. I’m not that successful. I’m never going to make it.” You get that FOMO feeling. After you work, you go, “Oh, I sucked, I stink,” and I said to her: “Look, I’ve been in the business 50 years now, and it never stops.” I said, “I’ve got two words for you, my dear: cocktail waitressing. You get to dress up. People are nice. You get great cash tips.” I don’t wish [show business] on anybody, the struggle in this industry. And especially now, the way the industry is, it’s even tougher. The consolidation…making less projects, spending less money.

Q: So when you said “cocktail waitress” to your daughter, what was her response?

A: “Oh, Dad.” She’s terrific, she has a beautiful voice…It’s so fun to be able to perform with her. We’ve got a movie together. It’s called Karate Ghost—it’s not out yet—where I play the mayor of this town in Canada, and she’s my assistant, and it’s very funny. 

Q: Do you still enjoy performing live?

A: That’s where it’s at. That’s where the adrenal glands kick in. In front of an audience there’s a communication that goes on between you and the audience that makes you so present. You’re experiencing this moment together, and we’re all present, and it’s magic. Performance is magic, and I’m a magic chaser.

Photo: Tyler Maddox