DAN AYKROYD
b. July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario
|
|
The image of Dan Aykroyd on the left is taken from a lobby card set of 8 images for Ghostbusters now in the Northern Stars Collection.
This biography is Copyright © 2005 and may not be reproduced without prior written permission. For more information about copyright, click here.
|
|
Are the forces of another dimension working in Dan Aykroyd's favour? He has gone from the son of the deputy minister of transportation to comic actor to Oscar® nominee without missing a step. In fact, he seemed to skip along the way.
Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on Canada Day 1952. He grew up in Ottawa and attended Carleton University. Studying a combination of psychology, criminal sociology and political science paid off. His film career easily spans all three  disciplines and then some.
Aykroyd began his career producing, co-writing and acting in a series of 15-minute comedy shows for a private cable company while still in university. Finding these shows to be a little more interesting to him than his course load, he decided to devote himself to the entertainment industry. In 1972, he joined the famed comedy ensemble Second City and worked both in the Chicago and Toronto clubs. Also in 1972, Aykroyd co-wrote and starred in his first feature, the low-budget Canadian comedy Love at First Sight.
In 1975 he joined the inaugural year of Saturday Night Live. He learned his craft with performers who are now considered legends of comedy – John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. He left SNL in 1979 but carried with him some important connections. He and Belushi recorded Briefcase Full of Blues in 1979, and in 1980 a film version of The Blues Brothers was released. Studio executives were unsure of its ability to pull in an audience; it was a limited box-office success, which over time  grew into a cult classic. The Blues Brothers made Aykroyd and Belushi into icons of the early 1980s. In addition to starring in the film, Aykroyd wrote, produced and executive produced the soundtrack. Spin offs included the release of a second album (Made in America), a chain of restaurants called The House of Blues and a sequel to the original film. Blues Brothers 2000, released in 1998, picked up where the previous film left off. Due to the death of John Belushi in 1982, the film dealt with the missing brother and brought new characters into the cast, including John Goodman.
It's apparent from his list of credits that Aykroyd is a very hard worker. He has been in so many movies that it would be arduous to list them all. Small parts in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), She's Having a Baby (1988) and Masters of Menace (1990) are complemented by larger roles in other films. He played the straight man to Eddie Murphy in Trading Places in 1983, a comedy about role-reversal. In 1984, Ghostbusters gave Dan a chance to delve into a topic that is of great interest to him and his ancestors: the paranormal. His great-grandfather corresponded with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his grandfather held seances in the family home and his father is also an avid follower of the paranormal. This makes writing and starring in Ghostbusters a natural result. A huge hit, a sequel was made in 1989 and an animated series, The Real Ghosbusters, ran from 1986 to 1991.
Aykroyd is well matched when it comes to the company he keeps in his films. He teamed-up with SNL alumni Chevy Chase and Bill Murray in Spies Like Us in 1985. In 1988 he joined John Candy for The Great Outdoors. The Couch Trip included his wife, Donna Dixon, and Caddyshack II reunited him with Bill Murray.
Aykroyd took on a dramatic role as Jessica Tandy's son in Driving Miss Daisy (1989). He was nominated for an Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor. This proved his talent did not rest entirely on the comedic side. Another dramatic role surfaced for him in My Girl (1991), starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. Aykroyd received critical praise for his performance as a single father mortician trying to raise a daughter. His reprised the role in My Girl II in 1994.
Although he only had a small part in Tommy Boy (1995), Aykroyd had the opportunity to work with Chris Farley, John Belushi's successor, according to the media. He kept busy by taking parts in two low-impact films in 1996, Sgt. Bilko and Celtic Pride.
At the same time he started working on Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996–2000). The show focused on the work of authentic paranormal activity, as investigated
 |
Dan Aykroyd in a publicity still for Christmas with the Kranks |
by the Office of Scientific Research and Investigation. Aykroyd acted as host of the show, which had an early Twilight Zone feel to it. Filmed in Toronto, he was able to live closer to his home in Kingston, Ontario.
Next in line for Aykroyd was the made-for-television movie The Arrow in 1997. It was based on the true story of the development of one of the most advanced jetfighters of its era, and how a variety of problems led to the cancellation of the project. The story of the Avro Arrow had reached mythic proportions in Canada, and as a result The Arrow reached a broad national audience. His second role in 1997 was in Grosse Pointe Blank. He played a rival assassin opposite John Cusack and turned in a first-rate performance with his great comedic timing.
In 1998, Aykroyd got a chance to stretch his vocal talents when the producers behind Antz called to say they wanted to use him in the animated feature. Hardly stopping to catch his breath, Aykroyd signed on for The House of Mirth. Shot in Glasgow, he starred opposite the X-Files' paranormal queen, Gillian Anderson. Two important milestones for him came in 2001. He co-starred in Curse of the Jade Scorpion and he announced his intention to retire from acting. Curse of the Jade Scorpion was a bit of a disappointment for movie-goers and fans of writer/director/actor Woody Allen. Although Aykroyd carried his role well, the movie didn't achieve anything new for Allen and while not panned, it didn't receive the rave reviews necessary to make it a box-office hit. As to his retirement, his fans hope it isn't true, and that it amounts to no more than a rest before the next phase of what has been a highly successful career.
Go to Dan Aykroyd's filmography
|
|
|
