Biography
Arguably the most formidable talent to emerge from the original ensemble of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), Canadian Dan Aykroyd enjoyed sustained success as a writer, actor and director, decades after his crucial role establishing the groundbreaking late night comedy show. He was beloved for his classic characterizations of white toast-eating Elwood Blues in "The Blues Brothers" (1980), humbled stock trader Louis Winthorpe III in …
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Career Milestones
2007 | Co-starred with Adam Sandler and Kevin James in the comedy, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" | |
2004 | Cast opposite Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis in the holiday comedy "Christmas with the Kranks" directed by Joe Roth | |
2004 | Cast as a neurologist opposite Drew Barrymore in "50 First Dates" | |
2003 | Cast in "Bright Young Things" an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies" | |
2002 | Played Kathy Bates' husband in "Unconditional Love" | |
2002 | Cast as Britney Spears' father in "Crossroads" | |
2001 | Co-starred in Woody Allen's "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" | |
2001 | Had featured role in "Pearl Harbor" | |
2000 | Offered villainous turn as Gus Trenor in "The House of Mirth" | |
2000 | Co-starred in Denys Arcand's "Stardom" | |
1999 | Portrayed the journalist son of a former boxer (Kirk Douglas) in "Diamonds" | |
1998 | Co-wrote (with director John Landis) and starred in "Blues Brothers 2000"; John Goodman replaced the late John Belushi as his partner in blue; also produced | |
1998 | Served as creative consultant on animated series "The Blues Brothers", a mid-season replacement on the UPN Network; John Belushi's widow Judith Belushi Pisano and husband Victor Pisano also received credit as creative consultants | |
1997 | Made primetime TV series debut as regular, lead role in the ABC sitcom "Soul Man" | |
1997 | Sparkled as a hit man in "Grosse Pointe Blank" | |
1996 | Hosted the syndicated TV program "PSI Factor", which chronicles paranormal activities; one of show's executive producers was Aykroyd's brother Peter | |
1996 | Played US President William Haney in "My Fellow Americans", starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner | |
| Hosted the House of Blues Radio Hour | ||
| Served on the Board of Directors for the House of Blues, a restaurant-nightclub-entertainment company he co-founded with Isaac Tigrett (co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe) | ||
1991 | Rare TV guest spot, "Yellow", an episode of "Tales From the Crypt", directed by Robert Zemeckis | |
1991 | Feature directing debut, "Nothing But Trouble" | |
1989 | First largely dramatic supporting role, "Driving Miss Daisy"; garnered a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination | |
| Received a co-creator credit on "The Real Ghostbusters", ABC's animated children's series | ||
1986 | Debut as executive producer, "One More Saturday Night", a film for video and cable markets | |
1984 | Co-wrote and co-starred in the hugely popular comedy feature, "Ghostbusters" | |
1983 | Provided the voice of Beldar Conehead on "The Coneheads", an unsold animated pilot | |
| Released "Made in America", a live Blues Brothers album | ||
1980 | First Hollwood screenplay (shared credit with director John Landis), "The Blues Brothers" | |
1979 | Embarked on a live ten-city tour with Belushi and The Blues Brothers Band | |
1979 | Recorded the album "Briefcase Full of Blues" with Belushi | |
| Formed The Blues Brothers Band with "Saturday Night Live" co-star John Belushi | ||
1979 | US film debut, Steven Spielberg's "1941" | |
1976 | Wrote for and appeared on "The Beach Boys Special" | |
| Was an original member of the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" | ||
| Ran an after-hours bistro, Club 505, with a couple of friends | ||
| Feature film acting and co-writing debut, "Love at First Sight", a Canadian production (released in 1977) | ||
| Performed as the announcer in "Greed", a live variety show produced by Ivan Reitman for Canadian TV | ||
| Worked as a pitchman on a Canadian cable TV station | ||
| Co-wrote and co-starred in "Coming Up Rosie", a children's program for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) | ||
1973 | Worked as a writer on "Everything Goes", a syndicated Canadian variety/talk show | |
1972 | Joined Second City comedy troupe; wrote and performed for the Toronto and Chicago companies | |
1972 | Produced, co-wrote, and acted in a series of 15-minute comedy shows entitled "A Change for a Quarter" for a private cable company | |
Awards
1989 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in Driving Miss Daisy |
1979 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program in Saturday Night Live |
1979 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing In a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series in Saturday Night Live |
1978 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance By a Supporting Actor In Variety or Music in Saturday Night Live |
1978 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing In a Comedy-Variety or Music Series in Saturday Night Live |
1977 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing In a Comedy-Variety or Music Series in Saturday Night Live |