User:TimothyPilgrim/Dan Aykroyd
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Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1952, Dan Aykroyd grew up in a religious family. He quickly became the black sheep and was even expelled from his Catholic seminary school. His sense of humour may have gotten him into trouble but Aykroyd was no idiot, and continued his education, eventually attending Carleton University in Ottawa. While there he studied a variety of disciplines, psychology, political science and criminal sociology. These studies were probably due to the influence of his parents. His father Samuel Aykroyd was an Assistant Deputy Minister of Transportation and his mother, Lorraine (Gougeon) Aykroyd was a clerk for the Canadian government. While studying at University however, he spent a lot of time developing comedy bits and he eventually decided to go with his heart and pursue a career in comedy.
IN THE BEGINNING
Dan Aykroyd got his comedic debut doing stand-up routines in Canada, but it wasn't until he found himself on a new and controversial show back in 1975 that he really found fame. Saturday Night live launched his career and made him a household name. He was the originator of such classic television skits as The Blues Brothers, The Coneheads, Fred Jarvin: Male Prostitute, and those "wild and crazy guys", the Czechoslovakian Playboys.
His new found fame lead him to eventually leave the show and pursue a new avenue in film. Aykroyd has since been seen in a plethora of films. Some of them were quite memorable while others were disasters, but through it all he has remained a visible figure in comedy. Films like Ghostbusters, Spies Like Us and My Girl were all superb films.
MASTER OF THE MEDIA
He has also branched out into other genres and other fields. He has proven a propensity for dramatic acting in Driving Mrs. Daisy and has also shown that he is adept in other media. He recorded two blues albums, Briefcase Full of Blues and Made in America, to go along with the release of the cult classic film Blues Brothers (based on the SNL sketch), he has hosted a radio show for CBS as his Elwood Blues character, and has also done some recent work in television. He developed and starred in "The Arrow", a television movie for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as well as a television series "Psi Factor" dealing with investigations into the paranormal. For American television he developed and starred in the critically acclaimed sitcom "Soul Man". Obviously Mr.Aykroyd is a very busy man and that is not all he has been up to recently.
Original Page Text
Daniel Edward Aykroyd (born July 1, 1952, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a comedian actor. He gained fame on the American TV show Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1979. Born with syndactylism (webbed toes). He has been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
A list of films and television appearances includes:
- 1974:Gift of Winter (TV)
- 1975:Saturday Night Live (TV), Coming Up Rosie (TV)
- 1977:Love at First Sight, Things We Did Last Summer (TV)
- 1978:The Rutles (TV)
- 1979:1941, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
- 1980:The Blues Brothers
- 1981:Neighbors, Steve Martin's Best Show Ever (TV)
- 1982:It Came from Hollywood, Neighbors
- 1983:Doctor Detroit, Trading Places, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Coneheads (TV)
- 1984:Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Nothing Lasts Forever
- 1985:Into the Night, Spies Like Us
- 1986:Comedy Music Videos, One More Saturday Night
- 1987:Dragnet
- 1988:Caddyshack II, The Couch Trip, My Stepmother Is an Alien, She's Having a Baby, The Great Outdoors
- 1989:Driving Miss Daisy, Ghostbusters II
- 1990:Loose Cannons, Masters of Menace
- 1991:My Girl, Nothing But Trouble, Two-Fisted Tales (TV)
- 1992:Chaplin, Sneakers, This Is My Life
- 1993:Coneheads
- 1994:Exit to Eden, My Girl 2, North
- 1995:Canadian Bacon, Casper, Getting Away with Murder, Rainbow, The Random Factor, Tommy Boy
- 1996:Celtic Pride, Feeling Minnesota, Getting Away with Murder, My Fellow Americans, Rainbow, Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (TV), Sgt. Bilko
- 1997:The Arrow (TV), Blues Brothers 2000, Grosse Pointe Blank, Soul Man (TV)
- 1998:Antz, Blues Brothers 2000, Susan's Plan
- 1999:Diamonds
- 2000:Loser, Stardom, The House of Mirth
- 2001:Earth vs. the Spider, Evolution, On the Nose, Pearl Harbor, The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
- 2002:Crossroads, Unconditional Love
- 2003:Bright Young Things, Whitecoats
- 2004:50 First Dates
