Dan Aykroyd CM OOnt

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Biography

Dan Aykroyd CM OOnt is the descendant of Palatine migrants.

Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian-American actor known for his work on late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) and comedic roles in movies such as The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, and The Coneheads.

Family Life

Dan was born in Ottawa, Ontario on July 1, 1952, the son of Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd and Lorraine Hélène Marie Gougeon.

During the filming of The Blues Brothers, Dan became engaged to actress Carrie Fisher but their engagement was short-lived. In 1983, Dan married fellow actor, Donna Dixon. They separated in April 2022 but remain legally married.

Dan became an American citizen but maintains ties to Canada and a residence in Ontario.

Career

He began his musical career in Ottawa. He was exposed to a variety of travelling blues players particularly at a club called Le Hibou. At age 17, he started in working as a sketch comedy performer.

His big break came when he was hired to write and act on the American late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). There he became a close friend and partner with fellow cast member John Belushi. They would go on to develop their act, The Blues Brothers which was popularized in the 1980 film of the same name. After SNL and The Blues Brothers, Dan starred in numerous film roles including Ghostbusters series.

Dan also founded some business ventures: the House of Blues, a chain of music venues and live music promoter, Aykroyd's Ghetto House Cafe in Kingston, Ontario, and Crystal Head Vodka, a brand of high-end vodka known for its distinctive skull-shaped bottle. He is part owner of several wineries in Canada's Niagara Peninsula and the company that distributes Patrón tequila in Canada. He also was involved with an online-casino game featuring the Blues Brothers and helped save the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.

Dan has served in the reserve for the police department of Harahan, Louisiana and the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Hinds County, Mississippi. He also has a passion for the outdoors, geology, and palaeontology. He also considers himself a Spiritualist.

Awards and Honours

Dan's honours include:

• Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series for his collaborative work on Saturday Night Live in 1977
• an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Carleton University in 1994
• a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999
• inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2002^[1]
• a member of the Order of Ontario in 2017

Sources

1. ↑ Entry for Dan Ackroyd - Canada's Walk of Fame

• IMDb: Entry for Dan Aykroyd (accessed 5 May 2024)
• Defelice, James V.. "Dan Aykroyd". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 04 December 2018, Historica Canada. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dan-aykroyd. Accessed 24 February 2026.
• Wikipedia entry: Wikipedia contributors, "Dan Aykroyd"
  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (accessed 5 May 2024)