It was 30 years ago on Monday (March 5, 2012), that comedian John Belushi was found dead in Bungalow No. 3 of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. He died of an accidental drug overdose after injecting himself with a 'speedball' - a combination of cocaine and heroin, reports the Los Angeles Times.
As reported back in 1985, Catherine Evelyn Smith - described as a groupie at the time - was with Belushi in his final hours. She was later the subject of a National Enquirer story under the headline "I Killed John Belushi", in which she spoke of injecting the comedian with drugs, and noting, "John supplied the coke. I supplied the heroin. I was Florence Nightingale with the hypodermic". On the evening of the comedian's death, he was visited by his friend Robin Williams who snorted cocaine too, according to the Times. The actor later told People magazine in 1988, "The Belushi tragedy was frightening" adding that it was a wake-up call for "a whole group of show-business people". One of the most revered comedians of his time, Belushi starred on Saturday Night Live between 1975 and 1979 - a tenure during which he also made 'Animal House', about a college Dean who is determined to expel the entire fraternity. In 1980, he made 'The Blues Brothers', but two years later he was dead.