Peter Aykroyd — the Canadian actor, comedian, former Saturday Night Live cast member and writer, and brother to Dan Aykroyd — has died. A cause of death was not revealed. He was 66.
Aykroyd's passing was announced this past Saturday (November 20) during the Simu Liu-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, a day after his 66th birthday. A video tribute to the late cast member, which can be viewed below, featured his turn as "The Java Junkie" in a 1979 SNL sketch, in which Aykroyd's coffee-addled character downs cup after cup.
Born and raised in Ottawa in 1955, Aykroyd and brother Dan made a foray into comedy as members of Toronto's Second City troupe. He would join Saturday Night Live in 1979 as a writer and cast member, earning a shared Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for his year-long tenure on the show.
Post-SNL, Aykroyd continued to work alongside his brother, with appearances in films including Coneheads, Dragnet and Spies Like Us. Dan Aykroyd's directorial debut, 1991 comedy Nothing But Trouble, was based on a story written by Peter.
Aykroyd co-created Canadian science-fiction drama series Psi Factor, which aired 88 episodes between 1996 and 2000 and was hosted by his brother Dan. In 1997, Aykroyd and Jim Belushi provided the voices of Elwood Blues and Jake Blues for unaired cartoon The Blues Brothers Animated Series, stepping into roles made famous by their respective brothers, Dan and John.
Aykroyd's passing was announced this past Saturday (November 20) during the Simu Liu-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, a day after his 66th birthday. A video tribute to the late cast member, which can be viewed below, featured his turn as "The Java Junkie" in a 1979 SNL sketch, in which Aykroyd's coffee-addled character downs cup after cup.
Born and raised in Ottawa in 1955, Aykroyd and brother Dan made a foray into comedy as members of Toronto's Second City troupe. He would join Saturday Night Live in 1979 as a writer and cast member, earning a shared Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for his year-long tenure on the show.
Post-SNL, Aykroyd continued to work alongside his brother, with appearances in films including Coneheads, Dragnet and Spies Like Us. Dan Aykroyd's directorial debut, 1991 comedy Nothing But Trouble, was based on a story written by Peter.
Aykroyd co-created Canadian science-fiction drama series Psi Factor, which aired 88 episodes between 1996 and 2000 and was hosted by his brother Dan. In 1997, Aykroyd and Jim Belushi provided the voices of Elwood Blues and Jake Blues for unaired cartoon The Blues Brothers Animated Series, stepping into roles made famous by their respective brothers, Dan and John.
