Closing in on what would have been John Belushi's 60th birthday, debates rage about whether he was really a brilliant comic whose career was cut tragically short before he had time to become great, or just a talented comedian who died before he had a chance to embarrass himself. We lean towards the former argument, and this clip gives you an idea why.
By the time this brief clip for what was then being called The Saturday Night Show was recorded, the then 26-year-old Belushi didn't have to try out for anything -- he was already a lock to make the cast. But it still captures him at the pinnacle of his clowning, mocking the whole idea of screen tests: he starts out doing a few absurd "warm-up" exercises, then goes on to riff a gross improvisation on live television, and heads into a goofy parody of Marlon Brandon's own screen test for The Godfather -- a movie that was then only a few years old.
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