The Blues Brothers: Cast List Of This 1980 Comedy Classic Movie

By | May 23, 2020

test article image
John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Carrie Fisher on the set of 'The Blues Brothers.' Source: IMDB

With young John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Carrie Fisher, The Blues Brothers (1980) was loaded for comedy in its major roles. But the cast list doesn't stop there, and it's not only actors. James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin all play fictional characters and, as you'd expect, sing in the film, which isn't a straight-up musical but does have song-and-dance numbers sprinkled throughout. Add familiar faces and names John Candy, Twiggy, Paul Reubens (later known as Pee Wee Herman) and Frank Oz, and you've got a turn-of-the-'80s celebrity extravaganza, for better or worse. The Blues Brothers might not hold up as well as Animal House (1978), Caddyshack (1980), or Vacation (1983) -- or it might, depending on your taste -- but it's still a fun watch and musical time capsule.

test article image
Source: (Roger Ebert)

The Blues Brothers did not originate for the silver screen, but rather grew out of a sketch for Saturday Night Live in 1976. Because of the popularity of the sketch, Aykroyd and Belushi decided to form a band called The Blues Brothers. The film evolved from there. Aykroyd took it upon himself to write the script, composing the 324 page draft in six months and presenting it wrapped in the cover for the Los Angeles Yellow Pages.