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Jim Belushi still feels connected to his late brother John Belushi, decades after his death.
In a new interview with Variety, published Thursday, Dec. 11, the Chronology of Water actor, 71, said he still gets visits from his older brother, more than 40 years after the Saturday Night Live star died.
“I have dreams once in a while where he and I are acting at Second City,” he told the outlet, referring to the legendary comedy theater in Chicago where he developed his improvisational skills.
Jim continued, “We were on stage together, and he was so funny that I cracked up, eating the scene in front of everybody. I got so mad at him, because that’s the worst thing you can do, is break character, right? But he was just so funny, and he goes, ‘Ah, come on, kid!’ He was sweet to me. So, I still get little visits.”
John was found dead in his favorite bungalow at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on March 5, 1982. He was 33 years old.
The late comedian and actor, who was one half of the iconic duo the Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd, died of an apparent drug overdose.
John was also an original SNL cast member, along with Aykroyd, 73.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the Song Sung Blue premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles on Oct. 26, Jim remembered seeing his sibling perform with Aykroyd, specifically when they opened for Steve Martin during a residency at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. in September 1978.
“It was magic!” Jim told PEOPLE. “And John was so, so magnificent. I loved that moment, to see my brother just hit the top of his chart.”
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John and Aykroyd later released a double-platinum album, along with the hit movie The Blues Brothers in 1980.
Jim also reflected on John’s first on-air performance as their Blues Brothers characters while speaking with PEOPLE at NBC’s Studio 8H for the live taping of SNL50: The Anniversary Special in February.
“When John and Danny entered that first time, nobody knew what was going to happen,” Jim told PEOPLE. “That cartwheel, boy, does my brother know how to make an entrance.”
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John’s widow Judy Belushi-Pisano spoke to PEOPLE about the late entertainer before her death in July 2024.
“John wasn’t perfect,” she shared in 2020. “But he was a full human being — caring and adventurous and kind. And he not only made people laugh. He made them feel.”
