June 20, 1980: “The Blues Brothers” Premieres

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

June 20, 1980: The Blues Brothers premieres, one of the few Saturday Night Live flicks that was turned into a good movie.

SNL castmembers Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on April 22, 1978.

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie "Too Big" Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975.

They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis: "Blue" Lou Marini and Tom "Triple Scale" Scott on saxophone, Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin on trumpet, and Tom "Bones" Malone on trombone.

Those Stax hits included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Jake gets out of prison, and is picked up by Elwood, who tells him that the orphanage where they grew up will be closed by the church that runs it unless $5,000 in property taxes are paid to the Cook County Assessor's office, at the Richard J. Daley Center, downtown.

So, Cliché Alert: They get the band back together. Along the way, they meet characters played by music legends Cab Calloway, who sings "Minnie the Moocher"; Ray Charles, who sings "Shake a Tail Feather"; James Brown, who plays a minister and sings "The Old Landmark"; Chaka Khan, who plays Brown's choir leader and sings backup on the song; and Aretha Franklin, who sings "Think."

They manage to put on a show 106 miles from the Daley Center, and get $10,000. On the way back, they are pursued by the Illinois State Police, seeking Elwood for driving with a suspended license, 116 parking tickets, and 56 moving violations; neo-Nazis, whom Jake had dispersed with his wild driving of the Bluesmobile; the Good Ole Boys, a country band whose gig they inadvertently stole; and Jake's ex-fiancée, played by Carrie Fisher, who apparently went nuts and swore revenge after he broke it off.

They manage to get the money delivered with seconds to spare, and are arrested on the spot. The movie ends with the Brothers back in prison, but with the band, Cab, Ray, James, Chaka and Aretha accompanying them as they play "Jailhouse Rock."

Director John Landis got 12 1974 Dodge Monacos to serve as the Bluesmobile. By the time filming was done, exactly none of them were still driveable.

The Dixie Square Mall, south of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois, had already closed by the time the movie came out, so there was no worry about damage. It sat abandoned until finally being demolished in 2012. I wonder if the guy operating the wrecking ball was told to "Hit it!"

For the record: I also hate Illinois Nazis. I also hate Nazis from the other 49 States. And so should you.

Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

*

June 20, 1980 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 15-7 at Yankee Stadium. Luis Tiant, a Yankee in 1979 and 1980, outpitched Steve McCatty. Reggie Jackson, Jim Spencer and Johnny Oates hit home runs for the Yankees. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base for the A's.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets led, 3-2 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Pat Zachry allowed singles to Jay Johnstone and Steve Garvey. Jeff Reardon was brought in, and gave up a double to Dusty Baker to lose the game.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 20-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Despite being the shortest player in baseball at the time, Angel shortstop Freddie Patek went 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski did not play for the Red Sox.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. John Wockenfuss doubled Lance Parrish home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. A leadoff walk to Gary Alexander and a double by Toby Harrah drove in the winning run in the top of the 15th inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The Brewers won without either Robin Yount or Paul Molitor playing. Nor did George Brett play for the Royals.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Dave Winfield went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

April 22, 1978: King Tut and the Blues Brothers On "Saturday Night Live"

April 22, 1978: The NBC variety show Saturday Night Live has one of its most memorable episodes. Steve Martin was the guest host, and he and Dan Aykroyd played the Festrunk Brothers for the 3rd time. These were "two wild and crazy guys" who had emigrated from then-Communist Czechoslovakia in search of easy women. Along the same lines, Gilda Radner did a parody commercial, for "Hey You," the perfume for women who wanted to have one-night stands.

Martin also debuted the character of "Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber." In the Middle Ages, barbers were also surgeons, because, you know, knives. The sketch was as disgusting as it sounds, and was only used once more, as "Theodoric of York, Medieval Judge."

Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on this night.

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975. They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis.

These included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

This episode of SNL also tapped into a big pop-culture phenomenon of the moment: The traveling exhibition of The Treasures of Tutankhaumen, the "Boy Pharoah" who reigned over Egypt from 1341 to 1323 BC, dying at the age of 19.

The tour came to America, and its artifacts were showcased at the Smithsonian Institution's National Gallery of Art in Washington from November 17, 1976 to March 15, 1977; the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago from April 14 to August 15, 1977; the New Orleans Museum of Art from September 15, 1977 to January 15, 1978; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from February 15 to June 15, 1978, including during the episode in question; the Seattle Art Museum from July 15 to November 15, 1978; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from December 15, 1978 to April 15, 1979; and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco from June 11 to September 30, 1979. And people couldn't get enough of it.

Steve Martin, like most people trying to make a living in show business in the late 1970s, was living in Los Angeles, and saw the fanatical tourists lining up to see "King Tut." So he decided to have some fun with it. With a band he named the Toot Uncommons, he wrote and recorded a comedy song, which, like most songs about historical figures, got the facts wrong. But, since it was a comedy, he didn't care. He just wanted to make people laugh, with lines like "Buried with a donkey/He's my favorite honky!" and "He coulda won a Grammy/Buried in his jammies!" and "He gave his life for tourism."

It was a moment in time, one that won't be repeated. The artifacts had previously toured America in the early 1960s, including as part of the World's Fairs in Seattle in 1962 and New York in 1964-65; and did so again from 2005 to 2009, and 2018 to 2021. But on none of those occasions was there as much fuss as in 1977, '78 and '79.

As of April 22, 2022, Alec Baldwin has hosted SNL the most times, 17, followed by Martin with 15 and Goodman with 13. (UPDATE: On December 10, 2022, Martin hosted for a 16th time, bringing him to within 1 of Baldwin's lead.)

*

April 22, 1978 was a Saturday. Actor Manu Intiraymi, who played the ex-Borg teenager Icheb on Star Trek: Voyager, was born.

These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. It was an NBC Game of the Week. Singles by Fred Stanley, Mickey Rivers and Roy White won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning. Sparky Lyle was the winning pitcher, in relief of Dick Tidrow. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-6. Rookie Paul Molitor hit a home run for the Brewers, playing shortstop while Robin Yount got a day off.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Montreal Expos swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 and 5-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Wayne Twitchell outpitched Steve Carlton in the opener. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 3-for-7 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 13-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Andre Thoronton went 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4. The winning pitcher was Rick Wise, whom the Sox had traded to the Tribe as part of the package to get Dennis Eckersley, who was, at the time, a slight upgrade.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. George Brett went 1-for-5. Eddie Murray went 1-for-4.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Cards led 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th, but Duffy Dyer doubled home the winning runs. Willie Stargell hit a home run. Lou Brock went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 7-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Tim Corcoran singled home Steve Dillard with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Dillard had pinch-run for Rusty Staub. Jack Morris and Doyle Alexander started, while the winning pitcher was John Hiller and the losing pitcher was Fergie Jenkins.

* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 1-for-4.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Bob Owchinko (the 1st 6 1/3rd innings) and Rollie Fingers combined on a 6-hit shutout. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Singles by Ken Griffey Sr. and George Foster, and a groundout by Johnny Bench, scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Pete Rose went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at the Kingdome in Seattle. It took the A's 3 pitchers to finish the shutout: Alan Wirth, 3 hits over 7 2/3rds innings; Bob Lacey, 2 hits over 1; and Elias Sosa to get the last out.

It was an off-day in the NBA Playoffs, and in the Playoffs of the World Hockey Association. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. That would be the only game the Sabres would win in the series.

March 5, 1982: John Belushi Dies

March 5, 1982: John Belushi dies of a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles. He was only 33 years old.

Belushi rose to fame as part of the original cast of Saturday Night Live, "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players." His father was an immigrant from Albania, and so John, like other sons of immigrants, often played foreign characters, including in the very first sketch the show ever aired, on October 11, 1975, as a man learning English. The teacher, played by Michael O'Donoghue, went against type by teaching him with expressions that would never be used in real life: "Repeat after me: I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines."

His father owned a diner in Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and it was called The Olympia. That would be the name of a sketch, and the diner in the sketch, where Belushi served, "No hamburger! Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger!" And, "No fries, chips!' And, "No Coke, Pepsi!" Later sources would say the sketch was based on the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, which some SNL writers, from Chicago, knew well, but Belushi denied it, saying he'd never been to the Billy Goat.

Another immigrant character was Samurai Futaba, who had a different job in every appearance: Hotel desk clerk, delicatessen operator, tailor, and so on. Belushi did not, however, play one of the show's best-known immigrants, the alien Coneheads.

Dan Aykroyd did, and he and Belushi developed a music act, The Blues Brothers, who would sing 1950s and '60s soul tunes, backed by Booker T. & The M.G.'s. This led to a 1980 film, easily the most successful movie ever based on an SNL sketch. Another great Belushi music-themed sketch showed him playing Ludwig van Beethoven, then putting on sunglasses and playing "What'd I Say?" and doing a fantastic Ray Charles impression.

By that point, Belushi had already made his first hit movie, Animal House, playing John "Bluto" Blutarsky, the embodiment of the film's fraternity of slobs at a fictional college in 1962. His speech after the frat members are all expelled is legend. Psychotic, but legend.

John Belushi was the acting equivalent of a rock star. But he wanted to be a real rock star. To him, that meant fully embracing the lifestyle. And that meant drugs. They say marijuana is not a gateway drug. It was for him. It led to cocaine, and finally to heroin. It was a combination of cocaine and heroin, a "speedball," that killed him.

Later in the 1980s, his younger brother Jim Belushi joined the SNL cast, and became a star in his own right. In the 1990s, Aykroyd, Jim, and John Goodman got together to form a new version of the Blues Brothers, including making a weak sequel film, Blues Brothers 2000.

Also in the 1990s, Chris Farley joined the cast of SNL. Also a Midwesterner, and so fat he made John Belushi look thin, he developed his own memorable characters. And he also developed into a movie star. But he also developed a drug problem, and he also died at age 33. He learned all the wrong lessons from Belushi.

They say there's a fine line between genius and madness. John Belushi passed out on it. We should still be laughing our asses off at things he's doing in 2022, at the age of 73. Instead, we're laughing at things he did from 1975 to 1980, and that's it.

But what he did in those 5 years.

*

March 5, 1982 was a Friday. This was also the day the movie Diner premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 6 games in the NBA that day:

* The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 105-98 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 122-108 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 98-91 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Houston Rockets, 126-103 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-120 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. Kiki Vandeweghe scored 36 points.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 127-121 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Joe Barry Carroll scored 52 points, and had 14 rebounds. Clearly, this was not a night when he earned the nickname "Joe Barely Cares."

And there were 2 games played in the NHL. The Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames, 8-6 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0 at the Winnipeg Arena.