‘Animal House’ Star Tim Matheson Talks Costar John Belushi’s Drug Addiction
In his new memoir titled Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches, actor Tim Matheson opens up about his time filming National Lampoon’s Animal House, more specifically his time with the late John Belushi. When Matheson was cast in the film as Eric “Otter” Stratton and found out he would be starring with Belushi, he admitted that he was expecting a “colossal coked-up prima donna.”
However, the man that he met was completely different. At the time, Belushi was one of the stars of Saturday Night Live and was super famous. Although he was battling addiction, Matheson said that “he and his wife Judy couldn’t have been more gracious, more down to earth.”
Everett Collection
He continued, “He wasn’t trying to be funny or upstage anyone. He genuinely listened. He was respectful of everyone. … And he was that way through the whole shoot. He became very supportive of me.” Matheson shared that Animal House was his first time filming a comedy and he was terrified to mess it up. He was very grateful to Belushi for showing him the way and complimenting him.
Universal/Everett Collection
Surprisingly, Matheson also confirmed that Belushi was not doing drugs at the time of filming Animal House and that director John Landis was very strict on keeping drugs away from the set. Unfortunately, his addiction got the best of him after filming was over, and ultimately, he passed away in 1982 at the age of 33.
Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
Matheson still recalls the last time he saw Belushi. He revealed, “It was between 1980-81. I just remember seeing him and Dan Aykroyd enjoying themselves. That was a more somber moment — a sober moment too. At that point, John was excited about directing his career and trying to choose different characters and roles to play, not just the same old thing.”
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Classic Comedy Duos
March 2021
Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.
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