John Belushi's Real Name: John Adam Belushi

Quick answer: John Belushi's real name was John Adam Belushi. He was born on January 24, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois, and died on March 5, 1982, in Los Angeles.

Birth name and Second City

John Adam Belushi was born in Chicago to Albanian-American parents Adam and Agnes Belushi and grew up in the suburbs (Wheaton area). He performed with The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago before joining the original cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1975 (Britannica; Television Academy; LOC).

He used his birth name on screen; no separate stage surname is documented. Younger brother James Belushi also became a well-known actor-comedian.

SNL, Animal House, Blues Brothers

On SNL Belushi created indelible characters (including the samurai and the killer bee ensemble bits) and, with Dan Aykroyd, the Blues Brothers musical act. The 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House, starring Belushi as John "Bluto" Blutarsky, became a landmark comedy hit. The Blues Brothers (1980) paired Belushi and Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues in a musical action-comedy that drew on their SNL personas (TV Guide bio; Television Academy; Britannica).

Death

Belushi died on March 5, 1982, at age 33, of an accidental drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles—a fact established in contemporaneous reporting and later biographies. His death is discussed in factual terms in entertainment histories; this page does not sensationalize details beyond verified public record (Britannica; major obituaries).

National Lampoon's Animal House Blu-ray The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Belushi biography (e.g. Bob Woodward's Wired or later bios—note disputed reception)