Trivia

After working together on three films, Jamie Lee Curtis called him the best "screen kisser" who ever had a scene with her.

He and Bill Murray resumed their "Ghostbusters" roles to visit a terminally ill child who was a fan of the film and wanted to meet them.

As a child in the early 1960s, he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and Asperger syndrome. The symptoms had mostly subsided by the time he was 14.

Was born with complete heterochromia; one eye is brown and one eye is green.

Is part owner of a company that owns the exclusive distribution rights to Patron tequila for the entire country of Canada. Is now also distilling a vodka called "Crystal Head" to be bottled in a skull-shaped glass bottle.

He used to refer to the green Slimer ghost from Ghostbusters (1984) as "the ghost of John Belushi", as Slimer's party animal personality reminded him very much of his friend.

A police buff, he rides an Ontario Provincial Police motorcycle, collects police badges, sometimes rides shotgun with detectives in squad cars, and owns a business in partnership with several Toronto police officers.

Aykroyd and John Belushi were scheduled to present the first annual Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 1982 Academy Awards, but Belushi died weeks before the ceremony. Aykroyd presented the award alone, and stated from the podium: "My partner would have loved to have been here tonight to present this award, since he was a bit of a Visual Effect himself."

Proposed to Donna Dixon on Fran Drescher's porch. Drescher played a major role in getting them together from the start, after they all starred in Doctor Detroit (1983) together.

Spends every Canada Day (July 1, also his birthday) performing some sort of civic duty in Kingston, Ontario and one year was appointed a Citizenship Judge where he swore in some immigrants as Canadian citizens.

He met John Belushi in a Chicago speakeasy that was a favorite night spot of his and put on a blues record to play in the background while he and Belushi discussed the possibility of Aykroyd joining Saturday Night Live (1975). Not only did they hit it off and become good friends, Belushi became fascinated with the blues that was being played in the background because, to Aykroyd's surprise, the Chicago-born Belushi was primarily a fan of heavy metal. Aykroyd's familiarizing Belushi with blues music eventually led to them forming their popular "Blues Brothers" act, with a little input from then SNL music director Howard Shore.

Was very close with River Phoenix during the filming of Sneakers (1992). Aykroyd can even been seen wearing the shirt of Phoenix's band, Aleka's Attic, in the movie.

Said that his original finished script for The Blues Brothers (1980) was over 300 pages long, roughly the size of a phone book. He even sent it to director John Landis in the guise of a phone book as a joke.

Is ambidextrous, as is evident by his writing left-handed during the examination scene in Spies Like Us (1985).

He has owned or co-owned several bars and restaurants, including the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City and the House of Blues chain, the latter in partnership with John Belushi's widow Judy.

Wrote Ghostbusters as a tribute to his family's belief in astrology, mediumship and spirituality.

Is a victim of syndactylism, a birth defect where several digits are fused together. In Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979), he takes his shoes and socks off on-screen, to reveal this anomaly.

Is very interested in the supernatural and has an extensive collection of books on the subject.

As an avid blues fan, he hosted a nationally syndicated radio show "House of Blues" as his The Blues Brothers (1980) character Elwood Blues.

Has a "Blues Brothers" type band with John Belushi's brother, Jim Belushi.

Is a big fan of Paleontology and natural history, as is his wife, Donna Dixon, and their three daughters, Danielle Aykroyd, Belle Aykroyd, and Stella Aykroyd, who all appeared on the January 1, 2014 airing of Born to Explore (2011) with host and star Richard Weise, at the famous Alberta, Canada dig site of the Pipestone Creek pachyrhinosaur.

On his passport, he lists his occupation as "Writer".

His original idea for Ghostbusters (1984) was set in the future, where an army of Ghostbusters fought hordes of ghosts.

His grandfather was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

He's the first male regular cast member of Saturday Night Live (1975) to be nominated for an Academy Award. (Joan Cusack was the very first regular cast member of the show to be Oscar-nominated.)

Is a big fan of The Beach Boys and his first piece of writing was a sketch that appeared in the documentary The Beach Boys: It's OK (1976).

When Michael Palin guest-hosted Paul Simon, James Taylor & David Sanborn (1980), he remarked that Aykroyd was the only American who could have joined Monty Python. Ironically, Aykroyd is Canadian.

Once helped to subdue a drunk and disorderly passenger on a Montreal-to-Los Angeles flight.

He was going to star opposite John Belushi in a film adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" until Belushi's death put an end to that.

Daughters with Donna Dixon: Danielle Alexandra (Danielle Aykroyd) (born November 18, 1989), Belle Kingston (born June 9, 1993), and Stella Irene August (April 5, 1998, weighing 6 lb at birth).

Worked as a mail sorter for Canada's national postal service before he became an actor.

He has such a fascination with both police officers and criminals, one of the writers from the original Saturday Night Live (1975) said his ultimate fantasy was to commit a crime, then arrest himself for it.

Supports MUFON, a UFO study group.

Has played harmonica since he was 17 years old.

Is the only one of the four main Ghostbusters (1984) actors to play his role in anything other than the two "Ghostbusters" movies. He portrayed Dr. Raymond Stantz in a cameo in the film Casper (1995).

Holds an advisory commission with the Police Department in Payne City, Georgia.

Many sources state that he was married in the 1970s to a woman named Maureen Lewis and had three sons (Mark, Lloyd and Oscar). However, the marriage never occurred and the three kids never existed. What happened was that before Aykroyd became famous, he filled out a questionnaire from the publishers of Who's Who and made up a phony biography complete with a wife and kids.

Is a huge fan of the television series Dragnet (1951) and the series' star Jack Webb. So much so, that many of his characters are able to rapidly spit out technical information just as Webb did reciting laws and regulations as Sgt. Joe Friday. Some examples of this are: 1. In The Blues Brothers (1980) when Elwood Blues describes the specifications of the Bluesmobile. 2. In Ghostbusters (1984) when Dr. Raymond Stanz "orders" the demi-god Zuul to leave New York. 3. In 1941 (1979) when Sgt. Tree teaches the Ned Beatty character how to load and fire the anti-aircraft gun. 4. During the "SNL" Weekend Update whenever he would verbally spar with Jane Curtin.

Owns Dan Aykroyd's Wine, an Ontario-based distillery/vineyard and plans to open up for the market in 2008. He got the idea for the name from Paul Newman.

Was good friends with John Belushi.

He and M. Night Shyamalan, are the only two men to direct themselves in performances that "won" them a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Aykroyd "won" the award for, and also directed, the film Nothing But Trouble (1991).

He was awarded the C.M. (Member of the Order of Canada) on October 21, 1998 and invested on April 14, 1999 from the Canadian Governor General in Sydenham, Ontario, Canada. From his roots in the Second City Comedy troupe to his role as one of the original Blues Brothers, he has become an entertainer of international stature. The stage, screen and television characters he has created have brought laughter to audiences around the world and his celebrity status has contributed to the success of many fund-raising events in Canada. His Alma mater, Carleton University in Ottawa, as well as arts, health and youth programs in Kingston have benefited from his involvement.

He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Blues Brothers (1980) and Ghostbusters (1984).

He is a former reserve commander for the police department in Harahan, Louisiana, working for Chief of Police Peter Dale. He would carry his badge with him at all times. He currently serves as a Reserve Deputy of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Hinds County, Mississippi. He supports the Reserves with a fundraiser concert along with other blues and gospel singers in the State of Mississippi.

A scene was deleted from Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) where his character, Sgt. Frank Tree, met John Belushi's character, Wild Bill Kelso. The scene took place right after the tank was dropped into the water by the Japanese sub: Wild Bill was swimming out in the sub's direction just as Frank emerges from the top of the sinking tank, spots Wild Bill and they look at each other curiously, as if recognizing each other, a nod to their real life friendship. It was the only scene in the film where they interacted.

He hosts the nationally, now internationally as well, syndicated radio show "Elwood's BluesMobile", formerly known as House of Blues Radio Hour, under his Blues Brothers moniker Elwood Blues.

He was awarded the 2002 Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal from the Canadian Governor General in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Was offered the role of "D-Day" in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), but turned it down due to his commitment to Saturday Night Live (1975). According to John Landis, Lorne Michaels threatened to fire Aykroyd if he took the role.

Co-owns House of Blues with friend Isaac Tigrett

He is a Roman Catholic, and is of English, Irish/Scottish, Dutch, French, and French-Canadian ancestry. On his father's side, he can trace his ancestry to the 15th century.