20 Things You Didn't Know About The Blues Brothers
15. The Shooting Set Was More Like A Never-ending Party
When the movie began filming, John Belushi, at this point a mega-star because of SNL and Animal House, was a heavy drug and alcohol user. While shooting on location in Chicago, he took advantage of the opportunity to visit many of the city's clubs and bars and he was frequently late to the set because of late nights partying around the city.
In later years, Dan Aykroyd claimed that part of the film's budget was for cocaine so Belushi could get his drugs while remaining on the set. Also, a private bar for the cast and crew called the Blues Club was built near the main set; Carrie Fisher (no stranger to coke herself) revealed that the 'bartenders' also served as drug dealers, acquiring whatever was needed.
At one point, Belushi's behaviour was so out of control that John Landis hired a bodyguard whose only job was to keep Belushi clear of drugs. The situation came to a head one night when Landis found the star in his trailer in a 'mountain of cocaine' and persuaded a tearful Belushi to stop using.
Which he did, at least until the shoot moved back to Hollywood...