Peter Aykroyd, an Emmy-nominated former cast member and writer on “Saturday Night Live,” has died. He was 66.
His passing was confirmed on Saturday’s Simu Liu-hosted episode of the seminal sketch comedy series, as well as via a post on NBC’s official “SNL” Twitter account. His official cause of death has not been disclosed at this time.
The on-air tribute came in the form of a Tom Schiller short film that Aykroyd starred in, “The Java Junkie.” The classic noir parody featured Aykroyd as an over-caffeinated character buzzing around town to fix his coffee addiction. An ending title card pays tribute to the late actor.
Aykroyd was born on Nov. 19, 1955, and was raised in Ottawa, Canada, according to his official IMDb bio. Following in his brother Dan’s funny-guy footsteps, he launched his comedy by joining the iconic Second City comedy troupe in Toronto after playing small-screen roles in “SCTV” and “The New Avengers.”
Aykroyd joined “SNL” in 1979, juggling duties as both a writer and featured player. He earned a shared Emmy nomination in the category of outstanding writing in a variety or music program during his one-year stint at the show.
Aykroyd worked with his brother throughout his career, filling featured roles in films such as 1983’s “Doctor Detroit,” 1993’s “Coneheads” and 1997’s “Dragnet.” Offscreen, Peter and Dan co-wrote the ill-fated 1991 comedy “Nothing but Trouble,” co-starring Demi Moore, Chevy Chase and John Candy.
In 1996, Aykroyd stepped further behind the camera to co-create the Canadian sci-fi series “PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal.” Hosted by his brother Dan, the series ran for four seasons.
In 1997, he performed a voice role on the “The Blues Brothers” animated series alongside Jim Belushi. The duo took on the legendary roles originated by their respective brothers, Dan and John, on “SNL” and in the 1980 John Landis feature film.
Aykroyd’s last credited role as an actor was in the 1999 TV movie “Justice” starring James Belushi, Charles Durning and JoBeth Williams.
