DAN AYKROYD (Dr. Keats) received an Academy Award® nomination for his performance as Best Supporting Actor in Driving Miss Daisy. He was awarded an Emmy for his writing on the “Saturday Night Live” show starring Sissy Spacek and received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist 1979 for the triple platinum selling “Briefcase Full Of Blues” record album, which he recorded with the late John Belushi.
50 First Dates marks a double-reunion for Aykroyd, first with Adam Sandler, who made his motion picture debut in Coneheads opposite Aykroyd and Jane Curtin and also with Peter Segal, for whom he starred in My Fellow Americans and Tommy Boy.
He has appeared as a co-lead in at least 30 feature films with brief appearances in many more. The films with which Aykroyd has had principal associations have grossed close to one billion dollars in worldwide box office.
The Canadian-born actor has enjoyed a three-decades long career in the entertainment business, starting as a writer and performer on his local cable access station in 1970. He originated the show with his then partner Valri Bromfield. The program was 15 minutes long and titled “Change For A Quarter.”
Aykroyd can be next seen in the upcoming Stephen Fry-directed adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's book Vile Bodies entitled Bright Young Things in which he plays Lord Monomark, a 1930's press baron, and in director Dave Thomas’ comedy Whitecoats in which he plays Dr. Cyril Kipp, a hospital administrator.
He was awarded a Doctorate in Literature (Honoris Causa) from Carleton University in 1997 for recognition of his “Saturday Night Live” writing and for the nine produced screenplays on which he shares co-writing credits - Love At First Sight, Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us, Dragnet, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Coneheads, Nothing But Trouble (Valkenvania), Blues Brothers II.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, Aykroyd first performed on CBC network television in the summer of 1970 as a writer/actor for producer Lorne Michaels in the “Great Canadian Humour Test” TV Special. Michaels was also the host and did a stand-up routine with a partner in his own network show. Leaving university without a degree Aykroyd moved full time to Toronto in 1972 to work for Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters Director) and Moses Znaimer at the ground-breaking City-TV.
In 1983 he co-ventured as an investor with the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe International, Isaac Tigrett, to open U.S. outlets of the famous British American establishment in New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C. It was at the New York's Hard Rock Cafe Inaugural Concert that he reconvened the original Blues Brothers band for the first time since the death of his partner John Belushi a.k.a Jake Blues.
Performing thereafter in the “Elwood Blues Revue” Aykroyd opened the Supreme Court of Rock n' Roll Hard Rock in Dallas, Texas, in 1985.
In his persona as Elwood Blues he performs on seven CDs “Briefcase Full Of Blues,” “Blues Brothers Movie Soundtrack,” “Made In America,” “Best Of The Blues Brothers,” “Dancing With The Blues Brothers,” “Blues Brothers - Live From Chicago,” “Rhino Essential -The Blues Brothers.” In total approximately five million units have been sold.
Aykroyd recruited Jim Belushi to perform as Jake's blood brother Zee for a benefit concert underwriting Carleton University's Alumni fund in 1997. The two have since performed as Elwood and Zee Blues for audiences around the U.S. and to open House of Blues venues in America. As ‘Elwood Blues,” Dan hosts the 10-year-running House of Blues Radio Hour which is syndicated on 180 radio stations through the United Stations Radio Networks. The House of Blues Entertainment Inc. was founded in 1993 by Isaac Tigrett and Aykroyd.
After numerous live musical performances with both the original Blues Brothers Band and with the house band for House of Blues, the Sacred Hearts, Aykroyd and Belushi began an active search for material outside of what they were performing from the traditional Blues Brothers CD repertoire. The result is their new “Have Love Will Travel Revue” in which Aykroyd and Belushi work as co-emcees, vocalists and dancers and a CD “Have Love Will Travel, Big Men-Big Music.”
In 1999, Aykroyd was invested with the Order of Canada, receiving a Vice-Regal decoration from the Governor General of Canada, which is given to prominent Canadians who "desire to make a better country."
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