Police Squad! (lost John Belushi scene from ABC crime comedy series; 1982)

John Belushi.

Status: Lost

On March 4th, 1982, ABC premiered the show Police Squad!, created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, and starring formerly dramatic actor Leslie Neilsen in one of his many comedic roles. A broad spoof on police procedurals, Police Squad! only lasted six episodes but would go on to spawn the hugely successful Naked Gun film series, also starring Nielsen. One of the TV episodes was to include a guest appearance of comedian John Belushi. Due to the actor's death on March 5th, 1982, his scene was cut and has yet to resurface.

Background

As a running gag, the opening sequence of each episode would highlight a "special guest star" credit, then immediately kill that guest star off, as for instance fading in on William Shatner at a restaurant sipping what turns out to be poisoned wine. Another episode was to open on breakout film and Saturday Night Live star John Belushi having his legs tied to blocks of concrete, then drowned.

These plans were complicated when on March 5th - a day after the series premiere - Belushi was actually found dead in his home, of a cocaine and heroin overdose. The Police Squad! creators were shocked, mentioning in a DVD commentary that they had joked about Belushi dying after he had almost choked during the filming of the scene.

Availability

Belushi's scene was quickly pulled from its episode and replaced with one starring William Conrad. Despite the show's cinematic revival and subsequent emergence as a cult classic, the Belushi footage has never resurfaced, and is presumed to have been either lost or destroyed during Police Squad!'s prior decade or so of obscurity.