Dan Aykroyd WHAT I KNOW NOW

AS HE REVISITS THE BLUES BROTHERS IN A NEW AUDIO DOCUMENTARY, THE STAR SHARES WHAT HE'S LEARNED ABOUT LAUGHTER AND LOSS

- KATE HOGAN

Speaking by Zoom from his retreat on Lake Ontario's Thousand Islands-dressed in costume as The Blues Brothers' Elwood J. Blues, no less-Dan Aykroyd has two parting words: "Stay cool." But it's the writer-performer who has done as much in his 72 years, delighting audiences with his roles in iconic TV shows and movies from Saturday Night Live and My Girl to Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy. "I've had a beautiful run-I'm grateful for all of it," says the Ottawa native.

That theme carries through his new project, the Audible Original audio documentary Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, which brings together members of the cast and crew for an oral history of the classic 1980 film and the SNL sketch that launched it. "I hope people take away the emotion of the love story between John and myself," Aykroyd says of his late costar and friend John Belushi. "But also laughs and knowledge, and inspiration that you can still keep doing something you love." Aykroyd-dad to daughters Danielle, 34, Belle, 31, and Stella, 26, with his ex, actress Donna Dixon (the couple separated in 2022 after 39 years of marriage)-shared a few lessons with People.

Live in the moment-especially when you're dancing with Aretha Franklin.

The day we shot "Think" with Aretha Franklin for The Blues Brothers, the playback starts, and she starts to move and sing. I'm supposed to lift up off the stool and begin going with the choreography. But I was hit with a wave in my stomach of pheromones and endorphins-it was like falling in love. I couldn't move; I was paralyzed with the exhilaration of the moment. I was going to stop the take and say, "Sorry, I've got to take a breath." But she was into it, and I didn't want to. I was floored by looking at this amazing woman sing, what we were about to do, the music, being able to dance with her and celebrate and venerate this music that we loved as kids and beyond. But I got up, and I did it.