Chevy Chase says John Belushi once stole his cocaine vial off Saturday Night Live set
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The original run of Saturday Night Live also coincided with the heyday of cocaine use in America. Sometimes that could inspire comedic creativity — or at least being able to pull all-night writing sessions — while other times it led to clashes between costars. In a new interview for Bill Maher's podcast, original SNL cast member Chevy Chase recalled the time that John Belushi stole his drug supply from right under his nose.
"Back then, the big drug was cocaine," Chase said on Club Random With Bill Maher. "Obviously John turned out to be a cokehead but I had a little jar of cocaine with a little spoon that hung from it. Anyway, I had it on the piano of the stage. So I'm just playing the piano, the crowd isn't in yet, and it's just sitting. After I played just a little bit, it's gone. I had no idea how. Obviously I was looking at my hands at the moment that John swooped in and took it. So I immediately said, 'Belushi, did you take my coke?' 'No, what are you talking about?'"
Cut to a month later: "I'm invited to dinner at John and Judy's apartment and I see my little vial empty and washed, just sitting on a shelf by the books."
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank; Everett Collection Chevy Chase and John Belushi were on the original cast of 'Saturday Night Live' together.
Chase has gone sober since then, and says now, "I'm so glad I just put that stuff aside."
Belushi died from a drug overdose on March 5, 1982. Later in the podcast, Chase recalled how the tragic news was broken to him by paparazzi.
"That morning, Jayni, my wife, and I were in our house and there was knock on the door and I opened the door and there was, it seemed like 12 news people," Chase said. "'How do you feel about the death of John?' I didn't know yet that John Belushi died. It just shocked me. There I was stuck with these people.… What a horrible thing."
The Chase episode of Club Random is now streaming for subscribers, and will go wide on Sunday.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
