After the untimely death of their leading man, what better way to honour his legacy than by including him in the film anyway? The inimitable John Belushi should have played Peter Venkman... but after the role went to Bill Murray, they decided to model one of their ghostly puppets after the deceased funny-man. "Danny Aykroyd always used to refer to Slimer as 'The Ghost of John Belushi'," said Reitman. Apparently, the 'gluttony of the ghost' was attributed to his deceased pal. "He's just a party guy looking to have a good time." According to legend, Slimer was modelled on John Belushi... and Aykroyd admits that he was actually writing a line for Belushi when he got the phone call about his friends death. Perhaps that's what inspired Slimer in the first place. I will admit to having an inspiration along those lines, he said. And he even admits that Slimer's look was based on Johns body. But that's no insult. Hes just a party guy looking to have a good time, said director Ivan Reitman about the infamous Slimer. And that suits John Belushi down to the ground.