One of the essential original cast members. He was pure gold until the cast members got too involved with drug use. The show declined during that period until he left to do movies. Died way too young. Chris Farley followed his example all the way to the grave. Very sad.

He was okay.

Belushi is over rated hugely! Others before and after him far supercede him...sorry Belushi lovers

He was great. From using little chocolate doughnuts to working in Olympia restaurant, everything worked. Also, being from Wisconsin, I loved the way he said badgers.

I was never a big fan of "Saturday Night Live"; to me, the show was always more concerned with being "hip" and superior than it was with being funny (I always thought "Second City TV" was a far funnier, more insightful and acerbic show). Still, over time, I came to have a grudging respect for most of the early cast members of SNL. Belushi, however, I always loved without qualification. Even when stuck in a crappy routine, he invariably made me laugh simply by a facial expression, or a bodily contortion. While he may not have been a heavyweight when it came to comedy of the cerebral sort, he was an absolute genius when it came to physical comedy. "Animal House" is one of my all-time favorite comedies (if only they still made comedies like this in Hollywood!). As Belushi's legendary excesses began inevitably to catch up with him, his career began to slide downhill as he participated in several very unfunny "comedies." Of course, all the blame for that can't be attributed to him. Blame Spielberg; blame Avildsen; blame a Hollywood that encourages conformity far more than originality; blame cocaine, which most of Hollywood was apparently consuming in prodigious quantities during this period...and, yes, blame Belushi too. He was ultimately responsible for his own self-destruction...no one else. But, when he was on the top of his game, he was responsible for a great deal of joy and laughter. His star burned briefly, but brightly.

Are you people nuts? Belushi was funny as hell. . .he helped put SNL on the map.

overrated

I wish I could see the various Samurai skits again. I thought those were the best, but he had many.

Every now and then, I'm riding on the subway or sitting in traffic, and I think about John Belushi on SNL in The Godfather in Group Therapy, or Joe John Cocker, or Samurai Hotel....and I start laughing out loud. Now that's a comedy genius. There will be no other like him again.

The same thing over and over and over

Acting genius, had a charisma with any crowd, brilliant, who wasnt doing drugs in that era anyway. To the guy who said biggest fat drug moron ever- you officially have no idea about entertainment. Blues brothers- absolute perfection, SNL- way ahead, its easy to get obsessed with this guy, he could tear anybody to shreds. His death was bad, but it makes us appreciate and totally treasure the remainder of his masterpieces, ie anything he touched!!

I really think he is highly overrated.

innovative. bet he pooped alot...

I had the wonderful opportunity to see Belushi before he was with Saturday Night Live, while he was syill with the Second City troupe performing at the Chateau Louise in Dundee, Illinois with other SNL cast members to be. He was hilarious! When he went on to SNL his stardom and electricity went with him. But I take a star away from him for leaving us too soon- his passing stuck us later with Billy Crystal. I will never forgive him for that.

I have a top three who were equally funny, and he's one of them.

id give john a billion stars if i could. hes a national treasure. he is said to have had a heart of gold and was the best friend of an angel named danny...danny aykroyd that is. joliet jake and bluto live on in our hearts and minds. his snl work and short filmography are all classics. if he had lived to see today, hed be more famous than ever. im sure hes sitting on the clouds in a toga wearing rayban sunglasses and pissing on the airplanes. i will always love ya john.

He was definitely talented (Joe Cocker, Brando), and his skits were classics - samurai, bees, blues bros - he just didn't make me laugh that much. I think he's a bit overrated. His Star Trek skit was great tho. He's also the prototype for Farley, Sanz, and John Candy. "Chee-burger" was opied in the "you lika de sauce" sketch, and I dug Animal House.

John Belushi had a way with his audiences...whether it was on TV, in movies, or singin' the Blues, you knew he was having a good time and wanted to take you along for the ride! I miss him.

completely over rated. Loud does not equal funny

I will always love the "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger" skit, but the one SNL moment that will stand out in my mind is his impersonation of Joe Cocker. He NAILED it!

You can't watch SNL and not think of this guy. His portrayal of the killer bee and the Samurai are some of the most memorable ever made on that show.

When I think of Mr. Belushi, I want a "chee-burger". I loved his disgusting characters.

Hands down the funniest person ever on SNL. Belushi was a genius. The Samurai, the bee, the Blues Brothers. The fact that he made about five movies before he died and is still remembered so fondly almost 20 years after he died is a testament to his work. John was the best ever.

John Belushi will always be my favorite Saturday Night Live cast member. I think he is probably funnier to men than women because he did so much slapstick comedy. I loved his voices, he was very good with accents and impressions. He was a talented singer with a flair for the blues, as we all saw in the Blues Brothers movie. When I think of John, I think of him as out of control and over the top, in his comedy roles and in his personal life. But, he could simply look at the camera, cock one eyebrow, and connect with everyone watching. At times like that you could forgive him anything, he was everyones brother. I miss him.

John Belushi's only funny characters were the cheeseburger guy and the samerui. His other characters were pigs, and so annoying that they actually ruined the fact that he could act on the big screen.

Brilliant comedian. He's one of a kind and cannot be replaced. He's a gem of a comedian. Chris Farley wished he was as good as him.

the most overrated, painfully unfunny fat drug addicted moron ever to walk the stage

A comedic Legend! His improvisation was unbelievable.

Belushi is and always will be the ultimate SNL cast member. No matter how bad the skit was, if Belushi was in it, it was pretty funny. He could take something that sounds idiotic (e.g., a person at a diner tries to order lots of different food, but the chef/waiter keeps saying, "Cheeseburger?" or "No Coke. Pepsi.") and turn it into a classic. I'll also never forget him imitating Joe Cocker while they both sang on stage.

i rate john a 6, but what a waste...he cheated everyone with his early exit.

The poster boy for the tragic, ultra-talented, comedic talent of SNL.

I never really watched the show when he was a regular, but in the reruns, I recognize that he is hilarious and way ahead of his time. So many other future cast members took a page form his book.