Dan Aykroyd, a proud Canadian, veteran of stand-up comedy, Second City TV (SCTV) and an original cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1979. It was on Saturday Night Live that he first brought us the Blues Brothers and the Coneheads. (Researching Dan's bio we found no mention of the short-lived Toronto comedy series "Coming Up Rosie" in which he played the whacky Scottish superintendant with Rosemary Radcliffe.)

A versatile actor, writer, director and producer, he has appeared in many blockbuster films such as "Ghostbusters", "The Blues Brothers", "Spies Like Us", "Driving Miss Daisy", "Trading Places" - the list goes on. Presently, he is starring in his weekly TV series, "Soul Man". Relations: Father: Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd (Canadian government official) ; mother: Lorraine Aykroyd (née Gougeon); brother: Peter Aykroyd; wife: Donna Dixon (actress); kids: Danielle Alexandra and Belle Kingston

Dan could easily assume the mantle of "hardest-working person in show business." He has achieved success as an Academy Award-nominated dramatic and comic actor, screenwriter, producer, director, musician and restaurant/nightclub/entertainment company owner.

In 1975, Aykroyd joined the founding cast of a new comedy series, Saturday Night Live. As an integral member of the performing ensemble and writing staff, he created memorable characters while forever changing the face of the medium. A sketch on the series with his friend and fellow cast member John Belushi sparked the creation of The Blues Brothers Band; the two recorded the successful "Briefcase Full of Blues" album in 1979, starred in the box office blockbuster The Blues Brothers and embarked on a 10-city tour and top-selling "Made in America" live album. With Belushi, Aykroyd also starred in the films "1941" and "Neighbors".

Aykroyd's acting career has been diverse and extensive. Recently an unremarkable sequel Blues Brothers 2000, in which he recreated his "Elwood Blues" character and starred with John Goodman. On television, he briefly had a primetime comedy series Soul Man and the CBC historical mini-series The Arrow.

Aykroyd received an Academy Award nomination in the "Best Supporting Actor" category for his work as the dutiful son in Driving Miss Daisy. His other projects include the features Feeling Minnesota, starring Keanu Reeves; Gross Point Blank, with John Cusack, and My Fellow Americans, with Jack Lemmon. He also had starring roles in Trading Places, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, Spies Like Us (which he also originated and co wrote), Dragnet (co-writer), and Coneheads (co-writer). In addition, he has starred in Sneakers, Chaplin (portraying legendary filmmaker Mack Sennett), Doctor Detroit, The Couch Trip, The Great Outdoors, My Stepmother is an Alien, My Girl, North, Exit to Eden, Tommy Boy, Sergeant Bilko and Celtic Pride.

Aykroyd is on the Board of Directors of The House of Blues, the successful restaurant / nightclub / entertainment company he co-founded with Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. They currently have locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; New Orleans; Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Under the House of Blues banner, Aykroyd - in his "Elwood Blues" character, hosts three music series distributed to radio stations nationally by CBS.

Quote: I have this kind of nice-guy exterior, but inside, my heart is like a steel trap. I'm really quite robotic." --Dan Aykroyd