“John Belushi’s Improvised Genius and the Untold Stories Behind Animal House”

In the film “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” John Belushi’s performance in the cafeteria scene was entirely improvised. As Belushi began piling food onto his tray, director John Landis instructed the camera operator to “stay with him.” The famous “I’m a zit” gag was also improvised, and the cast’s reactions were completely genuine. The only physical damage to the house during production was the hole John Belushi made in the wall with a guitar. Instead of repairing it, the fraternity framed the hole and added an engraved brass tag to commemorate it.

During filming, John Belushi frequently visited local nightclubs to check out various bands. He was particularly fascinated by a musician named Curtis Salgado. Inspired by Salgado’s sunglasses, harmonica playing, and love of the blues, Belushi went on to form The Blues Brothers with his fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd.

“Animal House” is reputedly one of Donald Sutherland’s personal favorite films from his career. He described working on it as the funniest experience he had on a set. Sutherland was so doubtful about the movie’s potential success that he chose a flat fee of $75,000 for three days’ work over a percentage of the gross. Had he opted for the gross percentage, he would have made an additional $3-4 million. Rest in peace, Donald

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