Famous actress and comedian Jane Curtin dished the dirt on what it was really like to work with John Belushi when he was performing on “Saturday Night Live” while addicted to drugs.
Curtin was a member of the original SNL cast alongside Belushi, and noted some of the challenges she faced when she began working with the famous actor on the show in 1975. Nearly 5o years later, she still recalls how difficult it was to work with Belushi, who repeatedly showed up to the set strung out on drugs, Curtin said in a recent interview with People.
‘SNL’ alum Jane Curtin: John Belushi’s drug addiction caused me ‘problems’ https://t.co/4iChVkWkUV pic.twitter.com/ftq4Fbvwmf
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“I got along with everyone,” she told the outlet during her July 7 interview. “But I did have problems with John.”
She continued by clarifying she didn’t believe the issues she had with the actor were within his ability to fix at the time.
“But that was because John wasn’t John. He was an addict,” she said.
The seven original SNL cast members were Curtin, Belushi, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Chevy Chase.
The 75-year-old Curtin candidly expressed the discomfort she felt being around Belushi while he was under the influence, and stated that she was in a very different place in her life than he was. While he was struggling with his addiction, she was watching her career flourish and was establishing a stable life for herself and her family. (RELATED: Chevy Chase Claims The Late John Belushi Stole His Cocaine On Set Of ‘Saturday Night Live’)
“I had a life — a dog, a husband, an apartment with a little garden. It was a life I really enjoyed,” she told People. “John, obviously, he could party with the best of them, but the next day these guys were just so miserable. Plus, the 90 minutes on the show were so exciting and adrenaline-pumping, I felt all the other stuff was self-indulgent and seemed hard.”
Belushi died in 1982 of a heroin overdose.