Dan Aykroyd Imagined Ghostbusters' Slimer As The Spirit Of A Deceased SNL Star

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The scene is well known in the annals of pop culture. Early in Ivan Reitman's 1984 supra-hit "Ghostbusters," the titular exterminators (played by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray) enter the Sedgewick Hotel on their first ghost-hunting job. They haven't tested their ghost-ensnaring equipment, which is quite dangerous, as they are essentially nuclear-powered energy weapons. The Ghostbusters have been called because the Sedgewick is haunted by a green, legless apparition that only wants to eat and drink. They first see the ghost in one of the hotel's hallways, snarfing down the leftovers on a wheeled food cart. The food falls right through its body, but the ghost keeps eating. In life, that ghost must have been a glutton, and its divine punishment on was to be eternally hungry, trapped on Earth as a ghost. 

The ghost ended up attacking Peter, the Bill Murray character, leaving him covered with a full-body patina of ectoplasmic slime. Because of this scene, the ghost was nicknamed Slimer. After "Ghostbusters," Slimer became a mascot for the franchise, appearing on the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters," voiced by Frank Welker. Indeed, the character became popular enough to warrant the title of the show to be changed to "Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters." Slimer also had a small role in "Ghostbusters II" in 1989. He could be seen on the label of Hi-C's Ecto Cooler. There are many weird ghosts in "Ghostbusters," but Slimer is the most famous. 

Back in 1990, in a documentary short called "Slimer Won't Do That!," Aykroyd and Ramis (who also wrote "Ghostbusters") gave their thoughts on the popularity of the character. Aykroyd noted that the gluttonous little glob was, in his mind, modeled after a fellow "Saturday Night Live" alumnus. Slimer was, in fact, the ghost of John Belushi.

Slimer is the ghost of John Belushi

The "Slimer Won't Do That" documentary was, incidentally, made in conjunction with "The Real Ghostbusters" animated series, and Aykroyd and Ramis comment on how the character designs don't resemble them at all. This was likely because the show didn't want to license the actors' images. On the series, Slimer wasn't an antagonistic pest to be captured, but a friendly, silly sidekick for the Ghostbusters. He was kind of like their pet, and could speak rudimentary words. 

Aykroyd recalled writing the Slimer character, who wasn't always called Slimer. And he admitted that he was an echo of his old friend and "The Blues Brothers" co-star John Belushi. Belushi died in 1982 of a drug overdose, and Aykroyd was happy to pay him homage in "Ghostbusters," albeit indirectly. He said: 

"Slimer was in the very, very first draft. We called him ... 'The Onion Head.' He always had those traits. He was always sort of a remnant of somebody who liked to enjoy life. I often kind of think it was maybe Belushi coming back. Because John had that lust for life feeling, and appetites for things. And Slimer always had that trait of swallowing things and having them drain right through. It's weird that he has his own show. That really is strange to me. The Onion Head now is a cartoon star."

Belushi was known for his outside performances, manic comedy, and wild, uncontrolled energy. He was deeply beloved by a generation of comedians and, at age 33, was taken far too soon. It is weird, though, just as Aykroyd said, that Belushi should live on in the form of a gibbering cartoon mascot. Slimer also appeared in the 2016 remake of "Ghostbusters," and the 2024 sequel "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."