7. He Was The Last Person To See John Belushi Alive
It's become a cliche, but there are a lot of Hollywood stars that struggle with personal demons, and it's become even more of a cliche to suggest that comic actors are particularly susceptible to them. The sobbing clown trope was somewhat typified by the tragic story of John Belushi, part of the original Saturday Night Live ensemble cast and later star of such classic films as Animal House and The Blues Brothers. He had quipped on SNL that he planned to be dead by the time he was thirty, and an insane drug intake that culminated with his knocking back a speedball (an overdose of cocaine and heroin) was what finally finished him off, at 33 years old. The story of Belushi's last hours is a sad one, and includes numerous people who were important in his life, including creative partner Dan Aykroyd - who was in the midst of writing the script for Ghostbusters, in which Belushi was expected to play the role that eventually went to Bill Murray. More surprisingly, the actor was visited at his Chateau Marmont bungalow in LA by both Robert de Niro and Robin Williams, who had dropped in on the all-night bender he had been conducting. Williams and de Niro each had their own struggles with cocaine during the eighties, but never as bad as Belushi. Upon leaving the scene, Williams reportedly told his friend "If you ever get up again, call."
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
