Belushi is currently married to Jennifer Sloan; the couple wed in 1998. He has been married two previous times and has a total of three children, Robert, Jared, and Jameson. Belushi has made his priority his family, his career follows behind. On top of his personal life and acting career James is also an investor in the House of Blues.
Like his older brother, actor John Belushi, James got started in the entertainment industry by working with the Chicago theater group called The Second City doing comedic improvisation work. There was obviously a bit of sibling rivalry going on at the time because John called the group and told them that James was not allowed to use any of his old material.
In his work, Belushi has always flopped back and forth between comedic performances and more dramatic roles. His first major film was Thief in 1981; from there he moved to television and worked with Saturday Night Live for several seasons. His most recent television series is the ABC comedy According to Jim. As the lead character in the sitcom, Belushi plays the average husband and father along with his co-star wife, Courtney Thorne Smith.
One thing that has most characterized Belushi’s work has been his ability to diversify. When not starring in movies, Belushi also stars in television sitcoms; does voice-overs for animated series, sings and tours with Dan Aykroyd as an updated version of the Blues Brothers along with his own band The Sacred Hearts, and has also recently completed his first book called Real Men Don’t Apologize.
Other films to Belushi’s credit include K-9 in 1989, Curly Sue in 1991, and Salvador in 1986, directed by Oliver Stone. Some of his work on animated series includes Pinky and the Brain in 1995 and Snow Dogs in 2002.
In 2004, there was trouble brewing in his Los Angeles neighborhood when he decided to take a feud with his neighbor one step further by filing a lawsuit against her. His neighbor is actress Julie Newmar, best known for her role as the original cat woman. The feud had apparently been brewing for years when Belushi claimed Newmar was trying to drive him out of the neighborhood by playing loud music and talking badly about him to their neighbors. Newmar claimed the opposite, that she had been victimized ever since Belushi moved into the neighborhood. The lawsuit never made it to court, the two actors eventually reconciled. To make their reconciliation public and turn the incident into a joke Newmar appeared on Belushi’s sitcom, According to Jim.
In recent years, James has made his busy schedule even busier by becoming the founder and member of the board for the John Belushi Scholarship Fund. The purpose of this fund is to support college-bound students who are interested in pursuing performance and visual arts as a career.
YUDDY
