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

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John Belushi at the 32nd Annual Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner - NARA - 30805929.jpg

Actor John Belushi

Status: Lost


On March 4th, 1982, ABC premiered the show Police Squad!, created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, and starred Leslie Nielsen. A spoof on police procedurals, the series lasted six episodes before it was cancelled on July 8th the same year. This show later spawned the successful Naked Gun series, also starring Nielsen. One of the 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

In the opening sequence of each episode of Police Squad!, it would show a "special guest star" credit, with the guest star immediately getting killed off. An example of this is William Shatner at a restaurant and dying from poison in his wine. John Belushi's death scene was being tied to blocks of concrete under water. On March 5th, 1982, a day after the premiere of the show, Belushi was found dead in his bungalow. His autopsy found a combination of cocaine and heroin in his system. The creators were shocked by the death of Belushi, mentioning in a DVD commentary that they joked about it after he had almost choked during the filming of the scene.[1]

Availability

Due to Belushi's death, the Zucker brothers and Abrahams pulled his scene from its episode and replaced it with anothers death. In the years since the shows cancellation, the scene has never been released on home media. It is believed that the footage is either lost or completely destroyed.[2]

References

  1. Police Squad: The Complete Series: Audio Commentary for "The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand) Retrieved 31 Aug. '21
  2. New York Magazine mentioning his Police Squad! scene Retrieved 31 Aug. '21