Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( AK-royd; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian and American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from its inception in 1975 until his departure in 1979. During his tenure on SNL, he appeared in a recurring series of sketches, including the Coneheads and the Blues Brothers. For his work on the show, he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1977. Since his departure, he has returned for guest roles. Aykroyd's most famous roles are as Elwood J. Blues in The Blues Brothers (1980) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), and Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989). He reprised his role in various projects within the Ghostbusters franchise. He is also known for his comedic roles in 1941 (1979), Trading Places (1983), Spies Like Us (1985), Dragnet (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Nothing but Trouble (1991) and Coneheads (1993). In 1990, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Boolie Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Other dramatic roles include My Girl (1991), Chaplin (1992), North (1994), and Pearl Harbor (2001). Aykroyd has had supporting roles in comedy films such as Tommy Boy (1995), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Loser (2000), Evolution (2001), 50 First Dates (2004), Christmas with the Kranks (2004), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), and Tammy (2014). He starred as Reverend Mike Weber in the sitcom Soul Man (1997–1998). He has made guest appearances on various television shows, including The Nanny (1994), According to Jim (2002–2009), Living with Fran (2006), The Defenders (2011) and Workin' Moms (2017–2023). Aykroyd is also a businessman, having co-founded the House of Blues chain of music venues and the Crystal Head Vodka brand.