John Belushi | Speedball Overdose Death

Catherine Evelyn Smith, who died in 2020, is best known as the woman who killed John Belushi in March 1982 by injecting him with heroin and cocaine at his behest. 

“I killed John Belushi,” Smith told the National Enquirer in an interview in 1982, the year of the accident. “I didn’t mean to, but I am responsible.” 

For this admission, Smith was convicted of involuntary manslaughter before serving a 15-month prison sentence in Chino, California.

About John Belushi

John Adam Belushi was born in Chicago on January 24, 1949, and was raised in Wheaton, IL with his siblings. It was here, in high school, that he met his future wife, Judith Jacklin, before enrolling in and graduating from the College of DuPage.

Out of college, Belushi started his own comedy troupe, the West Compass Trio, before being recruited to join the cast at Chicago’s Second City, a legendary improv group that continues to the present day.

In 1972, Belushi and Jacklin moved to New York and joined Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest Off-Broadway in National Lampoon Lemmings. 

He also took up writing, directing, and acting for The National Lampoon Radio Hour, and rubbed elbows with Bill Murray and other A-list comedians, before befriending Dan Aykroyd in 1974 in Toronto.

Saturday Night Live

In 1975, Chevy Case recommended that Lorne Michaels bring Belushi in as a member of the upcoming NBC television show Saturday Night Live (SNL). After an interview, Belushi began his four-year career as a founding member of the show.

Here he brought memorable characters to life, especially the legendary Jake and Elwood Blues, the Blues Brothers, which he and Dan Akroyd would also take to the silver screen in 1980.

In a February 2014 ranking of all cast members who had performed to that point, Rolling Stone ultimately awarded Belushi the top spot, crediting him as being “the one who made the show happen on the edge… Nobody embodied the highs and lows of SNL like Belushi.”

How Did John Belushi Die?

John Belushi’s death took place in a hotel room in the Chateau Marmont Hotel, overlooking West Hollywood’s famous Sunset Strip, in March 1982. 

The day before his death, Belushi spent time with SNL writer Nelson Lyon, actor Robert De Niro, and drug dealer Cathy Smith at the On the Rox club. 

It was in the club’s office that Cathy Smith administered a speedball containing a mixture of cocaine and heroin, before bringing Belushi back home.

March 5, The Day John Belushi Died

Later that morning, Belushi’s bungalow was also visited by Robin Williams and Robert De Niro with both men using cocaine before leaving.

Only Smith and Belushi were present after this point, with Belushi now breathing strangely. When Smith woke him and asked if he was okay, Belushi asked not to be left alone.

However, Smith left to run errands at around 10am. Around noon of that day, Belushi’s personal trainer and bodyguard, Bill Wallace, arrived and discovered that Belushi had died.

The cause of death was ultimately determined to be a drug overdose, and Dan Aykroyd, Belushi’s partner and best friend, was alerted and told to tell Belushi’s wife before the media got to her first.

John Belushi’s History Of Substance Abuse

Belushi had long used cocaine and other drugs to boost his energy and help him cope with stress and insecurity. 

Belushi and other SNL cast members experimented heavily with drugs, and Belushi was fired and rehired from SNL more than once due to cocaine-fueled misbehavior and unreliability.

Starting in 1978, Belushi starred in films including Old Boyfriends, Goin’ South, National Lampoon’s Animal House, Blues Brothers, Continental Divide, and Neighbors. But along with this success, his drug use continued and escalated, despite periods of abstinence.

In the days before Belushi died in Los Angeles, he was busy writing and revising Noble Rot, a movie script that aimed to be a romantic comedy about a robbery set in the early years of the California wine industry. But the work was not going well.

By the time of his death, he was spending up to $2,500 on drugs weekly. And Judy, his wife of six years, chose to remain apart from him and stay in New York City, on the other side of the country.

Did John Beluhsi Ever Attend Drug Rehab?

Although his wife, colleagues, and friends urged him to stop using drugs and get help, John Beluhsi never attended rehab or addiction treatment. However, Belushi himself knew his drug habits had reached dangerous levels, but unfortunately still continued to use.

Despite his death at only 33, the comedian John Belushi is remembered as a legendary figure, larger than life. But he is a flawed, tragic, and self-destructive character as well.

And his fate is all too common now, as the opioid epidemic and abuse of other lethal drugs claims the lives of tens of thousands of Americans monthly.

Recovery Is Possible

If Belushi’s death proves anything, it’s that drug use isn’t glamorous, and it especially isn’t safe. Belushi may have been saved by a professional drug rehab program if given the proper tools for recovery.

If you or your loved one struggles with drug abuse or addiction, please contact Ark Behavioral Health to learn how we can help today.