- published: 16 Apr 2016
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James Adam "Jim" Belushi (born June 15, 1954) is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known for playing the role of James "Jim" Orenthal on the long-running sitcom According to Jim, and is the younger brother of late comic actor John Belushi, and the father of actor Robert Belushi.
Jim Belushi was born in Chicago. His mother, Agnes Demetri (Samaras), was the daughter of ethnic Albanian immigrants from Southern Albania, and his father, Adam Anastos Belushi, was an Albanian immigrant, from Qytezë. Jim was raised in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb, along with his three siblings: older brother John, his sister, Marian, and a younger brother, Billy. After graduating from Wheaton Central High School, Jim Belushi attended the College of DuPage and graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a degree in Speech and Theater Arts.
From 1977 to 1980, Belushi, like his older brother John Belushi, worked with the Chicago theater group The Second City. During this period, Belushi made his television debut in 1978's Who's Watching the Kids and also had a small part in Brian De Palma's The Fury. His first significant role was in Michael Mann's Thief (1981). After his elder brother John's death, from 1983 to 1985 he appeared on Saturday Night Live; he portrayed characters such as Hank Rippy from "Hello, Trudy!", and "That White Guy". Belushi also appeared in the film Trading Places as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party. He made a guest appearance in Faerie Tale Theatre's third season episode Pinocchio, starring Paul Reubens as the titular puppet.