James Belushi was born June 15, 1954, in Chicago. The third of four children - his brother was John Belushi - he grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. A high school teacher, impressed by his improvisational skills while giving speeches, convinced him to to be in a school play. After that, he joined the school's drama club. Today, if asked why he got involved in acting, he will jokingly say, "Because of girls. In the drama club, there were about 20 girls and six guys. And the same thing with choir - more girls!". He attended the College of DuPage and Southern Illinois University, where he graduated with a degree in Speech and Theater Arts.

In 1977, he joined Chicago's Second City improv troupe and remained for three years. In 1979, Garry Marshall saw Jim performing for Second City and arranged for him to come to Hollywood and co-star in the TV pilot Who's Watching the Kids for Paramount and, then, for a role in the series Working Stiffs (co-starring Michael Keaton). Later, in 1983, he joined the cast of SNL 25 for two years. Jim came to national attention in About Last Night..., playing the role he originated in the Chicago Apollo Theatre's production of David Mamet's Obie-award winning play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago". He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer Sloan, their daughter Jamison and a son, Robert Belushi, from Belushi's first marriage.


Son, with Sandra Davenport, Robert Belushi (b. 1981). Co-owner of House Of Blues clubs with Dan Aykroyd. Daughter, Jamison Bess Belushi with wife Jennifer Sloan (b. 1999). Father of Robert Belushi. Filed a $4 million lawsuit against neighbor Julie Newmar in 2004. He accused her of using harassment and defamation to force him from the Brentwood, California street they share. A newspaper article quoted a resident not involved with the dispute as saying "She's weird." and "He's a bully." In January 2006, the two announced they had settled their differences out-of-court, and later that year Newmar guest-starred on an episode of According to Jim that poked fun at their feud by having Newmar play a neighbor who annoys Belushi's character. Though he is a life-long Chicago Bears fan, he shares a birthday with former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren. He was nominated for a 1979 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" at the Apollo Theatre Center in Chicago, Illinois.