The Time John Belushi Swiped Chevy Chase’s Cocaine
Even though Chevy Chase says he was still friends with John Belushi until the end, the two comics had several famous bumps in the road while performing on Saturday Night Live. Appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast a few years ago, Chase explained how Belushi even stole drugs from him back before either of them was cast on the iconic show.
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“Back then, the big drug was cocaine. And obviously, John turned out to be a cokehead,” Chase chuckled, a disturbing moment of levity considering 1) the cause of Belushi’s death, and 2) the fact that Chase was a bit of a cokehead himself. Case in point: “I had a little jar of cocaine, with a little spoon that hung from it.”
Sure, some people even wore the spoons around their necks like a cross, added Maher, apropos of nothing other than confirming he was hip to the scene, man.
Before SNL, Chase and Belushi were performers in National Lampoon’s hit stage show, Lemmings. The musical comedy revue was a spoof of Woodstock, with Chase doing imitations of singers like John Denver while Belushi was stealing the show with his impassioned Joe Cocker.
One day, Chase set his cocaine vial on the Lemmings stage, he told Maher. “I’m just playing the piano. The crowd isn’t in yet, and (the coke jar) is just sitting there,” Chase explained. “And after I played just a little bit, it’s gone. I have no idea how or what happened. I was looking at my hands or something at the moment that John swooped in and took it.”
Chase had no problems identifying a likely suspect. “Belushi, did you take my coke?”
“How?” Belushi protested. “What are you talking about? What coke?”
A month later, Chase was invited to John and Judy Belushi’s apartment for dinner. “I’m there, and we’re about ready to eat,” Chase remembered. “And I see my little vial empty, just sitting on a shelf.”
Maher figured Chase got what he deserved by leaving his coke out in the open. “Drugs are an easy thing to steal,” Maher said, “because you can’t report it to the police.”
While Chase did his fair share, he said he was happy he eventually put cocaine aside.
“Me too,” said Maher, noting that the 78-year-old Chase was there speaking with him while Belushi passed away at age 33 before he got the chance to get clean.
Chase reflected on the morning of Belushi’s death. He was home with his wife Jayni when there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find about a dozen media members asking him how he felt about his friend’s demise.
“I didn’t know yet,” Chase said. “The death of John Belushi. It just shocked me. And there I was, stuck with these people. ‘Can we come in, Mr Chase?’ Oh God, what a horrible thing.”
