John Belushi Cause of Death: How Did the Actor Die?

Famed actor and comedian John Belushi died in 1982 from a drug overdose of a combination of cocaine and morphine, according to a 1985 Los Angeles Times article.

The then 33-year-old was found at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, California, with a fatal mix of drugs in his system, the Los Angeles Times reported, which LA County coroner Dr. Ronald Kornblum later said could have been inhaled or eaten as well as injected. As Kornblum pointed out, morphine is a byproduct of heroin.

For years, Belushi struggled with drug use; this was documented in Bob Woodward’s biography, Wired, which was published shortly after Belushi’s death.

Here’s what you need to know:

Belushi Died at the Chateau Marmont In Los Angeles on March 5, 1982

Getty(Getty)

In an excerpt from “The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont”, author Shawn Levy wrote that when Belushi arrived at Chateau Marmont on the night of March 4, he was, “a time bomb, a waste site, a mess. Sweaty, flabby, edgy, pale, disheveled, worn to a stump at 33.”

The book described the once-famed SNL cast member as incoherent, confused, and “off.” He had been staying at the Chateau Marmont, working on a script, for approximately a month, and spent the week before his death “in and around the Sunset Strip, hopscotching from one party scene to the next, be it the Roxy nightclub, Rainbow Bar and Grill and the restaurant Dan Tana’s on Santa Monica Boulevard, to name a few,” wrote Biography.com.

When Robin Williams, who always planned on stopping by Belushi’s bungalow after his night out, eventually made his way to Chateau Marmont, both Belushi and Cathy Smith (a woman who Biography.com described an “addict and sometimes dealer who had been procuring drugs for and administering shots to [Belushi]”) were inebriated. Earlier in the night, Williams performed a set at The Comedy Store. In his excerpt, Levy wrote that Williams quickly left, feeling “creeped out by the scene” at Belushi’s bungalow.

Later on that night, actor Robert DeNiro stopped by. De Niro had visited Belushi earlier in the evening of March 4, inviting him to join he and actor Harry Dean Stanton at Dan Tana’s with no success. When they returned to Belushi’s room, it was in a state of disarray. He stayed briefly, like Williams before him, before leaving.

The following morning, Smith reportedly cleaned the room and checked in on Belushi, who was “snoring loudly in bed”. She then left.

At around noon, Bill Wallace, Belushi’s personal trainer and bodyguard, stopped by his hotel room to find the actor unresponsive. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him to no avail.

Cathy Smith Later Admitted To Administering the Fatal Drugs

Two months after Belushi’s death, Smith admitted in an interview with The National Enquirer that she injected Belushi with the combination of heroin and cocaine.

Smith’s claims led to her arrest, and she was charged with first-degree murder. She pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and spent 15 months in jail at the California Institute for Women.

After her release, according to The Independent, Smith was deported to Canada. There, she is reported to have worked as a legal secretary.

Smith died on August 16, 2020, in British Columbia, at the age of 73.

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