Jim Belushi has shared candid details about his "Saturday Night Live" firing and rehiring.
The 67-year-old actor followed in the footsteps of his late brother John, who was an original cast member on the show, and joined in 1983, according to IndieWire. He was let go in 1985 but later rejoined the show for a short time, until Lorne Michaels returned and overhauled the cast and writing staff. Speaking in an interview with Vulture, Jim admitted his behavior on the set lead to his firing.
"I was out of control," he explained. "It was the best thing to ever happen to me. I was out of my mind. I was throwing a fire extinguisher at Dick Ebersol, a hissy fit. 'SNL' is the hardest thing I ever did, and that’s including divorce. I survived it, barely. I went back to him with my tail between my legs. I drop the ego, I got humble. I stopped drinking the rest of that season."
Jim said the way that Ebersol handled the situation humbled him.
"Dick put me in my place, rightfully, and had the courage to do it. I came back. I begged [him] for forgiveness, and he put me on probation," he said. "My wife at the time said, 'You thrive on probation. You were on probation from freshman to senior year of high school. You operate better with boundaries.'"
In the interview, Jim also spoke up about his brother's decision to leave the show after four years. It took a while for him to understand why John decided to walk away, but in the end he got it.
"I said, 'What the f**k, man? What are you quitting for?' He said, 'Jim, it’s like high school — senior year, you’ve got to move on.' And I felt like I was in my sophomore year, and the second semester that year I finally got it."
Jim is following a new path and is now in the marijuana business. He runs a 93-acre Oregon farm with his family and was the subject of a recent reality TV series on Discovery, "Growing Belushi," which took a closer look at his life and latest endeavor. He previously told Fox News he hoped that the project could create awareness around the positive aspects of marijuana.
"I think there are people that are very frightened about cannabis and its attributes and I thought, 'You know what? If everybody just sees how it's grown, sees the people that are involved, that really care … the testing that's involved, the safety involved, they may feel a little more relaxed about trying cannabis,'" he said.
"It's nonviolent. It also leads to a higher consciousness, which leads to compassion and empathy for others. I mean, that's all part of the wellness of cannabis."
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