ENTERTAINMENT

Jim Belushi talks about Blues Brothers, Fort Myers bar

CHARLES RUNNELLS
CRUNNELLS@NEWS-PRESS.COM
  • What%3A Super Bowl party with actor/comedian Jim Belushi
  • When%3A Starts at 5%3A30 p.m. Sunday. Belushi will also emcee comedians at the club Friday and Saturday night%2C but most of those shows are sold out.
  • Where%3A Belushi's Comedy Bar%2C 13851 Tamiami Trail South%2C south Fort Myers
  • Tickets%3A %2475 for Sunday. Friday and Saturday night admission is %2425 %28most shows are sold out%29. Call 433-5299 or visit belushiscomedybar.com.
Musician and actor Jim Belushi shakes hands with MaryAnna Invergo, 13, while visiting and performing at Golisano Children's Hospital at HealthPark on Friday.

You'd think actor Jim Belushi would be comfortable performing on a comedy stage.

He's a veteran actor and comedian, after all. He's performed on "Saturday Night Live" and in countless movies and TV shows. He even co-owns a Fort Myers comedy club, Belushi's Comedy Bar.

But Belushi admits he's far from comfortable standing in front of strangers and telling jokes.

In fact, he's absolutely terrified.

"It's so difficult!" says Belushi, 60, who will emcee comedy shows this Friday and Saturday at his club and then host a Super Bowl party on Sunday (he's rooting for Seattle). "It's just you and the audience.

"There's that relationship. And like any relationship, it can go south. And you can suck. And you punch yourself for sucking."

Belushi says he's gotten better at stand-up over the last few years, but he jokes that audiences shouldn't expect too much from his comedy gigs this weekend.

"I tell two Irish jokes and leave," he says and laughs.

Belushi has been spending a lot of time at his namesake comedy club since the place opened in April. He's been there about six times to emcee comedy shows, host events and perform blues songs with a pick-up band.

The Los Angeles resident co-owns the club with his Naples cousin Chris Karakosta, who also co-owns the downstairs restaurant/bar The Tilted Kilt. Both places are in the castle-like former Dwyers/Ballyorney building on U.S. 41 near Barnes & Noble book store.

Belushi says he liked the upstairs room from the moment he saw it. Now the place is decorated with memorabilia from "Saturday Night Live," The Blues Brothers and other things that Jim Belushi and his late brother John Belushi have done.

Sometimes Belushi can't quite believe he co-owns a comedy club, though. "I'm not a businessman," he says. "I'm an actor! I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

His club might be getting more national exposure soon, if plans for a reality TV show come together. Belushi says he's already submitted a "sizzle reel" of behind-the-scenes video to TV station TBS.

"They loved it," he says. If TBS bites, the series could air as soon as this fall.

The club would be perfect material for a TV show, he says. There's always something interesting going on backstage. And, yes, comedians are just as neurotic and insecure as the stereotypes suggest.

"Guys who are actors and guys who are stand-up comedians, we come from troubled places," Belushi says. "Sometimes that trouble is what makes us funny. But sometimes, offstage, trouble is just trouble."

Belushi says he visits Fort Myers whenever he can, but that's not always easy. He's been staying busy with TV and movie projects since his ABC sitcom "According to Jim" ended its eight-year run in 2009.

He's currently working on the upcoming TV miniseries "Show Me a Hero" with "The Wire" creator David Simon, and he also has roles in upcoming movies such as "A Change of Heart" and "The Man on Carrion Road."

"I get killed in two movies this year!" he says. "I've done so good!"

Jim Belushi performs as one of The Blues Brothers during the Super Bowl halftime show in 1997. Dan Akroyd is in the background on the right.

Belushi also performs regularly with actor Dan Aykroyd as The Blues Brothers — the sunglasses-wearing blues duo created by Aykroyd and John Belushi.

"You know what, to dance with a 6-foot-2 Canadian is FUN!" Belushi says and laughs heartily. "He (Aykroyd) is a total legend. I forget about that until I walk onstage and the crowd goes nuts."

But Belushi says Aykroyd had to twist his arm to perform in The Blues Brothers for the first time about two decades ago. John had died in 1982, and Jim says he was wary about doing anything too closely associated with his brother.

"I couldn't touch a cheeseburger or a sword, because John did that," he says. "So when Danny asked me to play with him, I said 'Forget it. That was John's thing.'"

But Akyroyd wouldn't give up. He joked that John's will specified that Jim had to put on the shades and become a Blues Brother.

Finally, Belushi relented. "I said, 'Well, if it doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me," he says.

He's glad he did, too. The Blues Brothers have brought so much joy to him over the years, he says. "It just changed my life!"

He says the same thing about another of his favorite things: Performing improv comedy with his group The Board of Comedy. They'll both perform at Belushi's Comedy Bar on Feb. 25-26.

Yes, stand-up comedy is terrifying. But Belushi says there's just something special about improv comedy and working with a team.

"There's real magic that can happen," he says. "Because everything is happening in the moment. It's looking each other in the eyes and just having fun.

"With stand-up, it's just you. It's the most frightening thing you can do!"

Belushi, who turned 60 last year, admits he could be slowing down now and not challenging himself. But he says he's always pushing forward and looking for something new to do.

Actor Jim Belushi and local chef Charles Mereday will host a Super Bowl party Sunday at Belushi's Comedy Bar in Fort Myers.

Sure, the movies and TV shows pay the bills. But Belushi says he rarely feels more alive than when he's singing or performing comedy onstage with others.

"When I'm onstage with those guys, there's a level of joy and adrenaline that you just can't get from golfing," he says and laughs.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook) @charlesrunnells (Twitter)

If You Go

What: Super Bowl party with actor/comedian Jim Belushi

When: Starts at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Belushi will also emcee comedians at the club Friday and Saturday night, but most of those shows are sold out.

Where: Belushi's Comedy Bar, 13851 Tamiami Trail South, south Fort Myers

Tickets: $75 for Sunday. Friday and Saturday night admission is $25 (most shows are sold out).

Info: 433-5299 or belushiscomedybar.com

• More about the Super Bowl Party: Belushi hosts the event, which features a 100-foot screen and multiple wide-screen TVs, an open bar, prize giveaways and food by local chef/restauranteur Charles Mereday. All proceeds benefit the music therapy program at Golisano Children's Hospital.