Emmy-nominated comedian Peter Aykroyd, a former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” has died at the age of 66, the show announced Saturday.
“‘Saturday Night Live’ revealed the actor-writer’s death with a card that displayed a picture of the previous featured player the years of his birth and death,” Deadline reported.
Aykroyd, the younger brother of former “SNL” cast member Danny Aykroyd, starting making a name for himself in the entertainment industry as a member of the Second City comedy troupe in Toronto, USA Today reported.
He was a writer and member of the cast on during the 1979-1980 season of “SNL,” and earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.
Also in 1979, he starred in the short film “Java Junkie,” a slip of which “SNL” shared on its Twitter page:
Peter Aykroyd
1955-2021
SNL '79-'80
"The Java Junkie" pic.twitter.com/5IJWJTezgz— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 21, 2021
The clip shows Aykroyd downing endless cups of coffee at a diner. “I knew I had become a Java Junkie,” he says in the film.
Eventually, he’s kicked out of the diner, and proceeds to drink coffee wherever he can find it.
“Well, they found me that night, and threw me into this place, Maxwell House,” he says, calling the house a “center for caffeine addiction where I was placed under observation” and ultimately “decaffeinated.”
Aykroyd wasn’t just known for his work on “SNL” and “Java Junkie.”
“He created the Canadian series ‘PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal’ and co-wrote the 1991 film ‘Nothing but Trouble’ with his brother. His additional acting roles throughout the ’90s included ‘Nothing but Trouble,’ ‘Coneheads,’ ‘The Blues Brothers Animated Series’ and ‘Justice,'” according to Deadline.
Tributes poured in on social media:
I worked w/#PeterAykroyd .He was a very funny, really nice guy who starred in Tom Schiller's short "The Java Junkie" & contributed to the soundtrack of "Dragnet"-a movie I co-wrote w/his brother @dan_aykroyd
My fondest thoughts & condolences go out to Danny & the Aykroyd family. https://t.co/bNpJ03KkJs— Alan Zweibel (@AlanZweibel) November 22, 2021
So sad to hear that Peter Aykroyd passed away. Gilda Radner took me to see him at Second city in Toronto and I was dazzled. What a brilliant improviser.
— Laraine Newman (@larainenewman) November 22, 2021
Our thoughts are with the Aykroyd family. https://t.co/GLB5M16Bsu
— Ghostbusters (@Ghostbusters) November 21, 2021
Thank you for sharing this very difficult to find classic Schiller film as a tribute to Peter Aykroyd. This was fantastic then, is fantastic now, and always will be. And Peter is a large part of the reason why. He will be missed. https://t.co/HlRCRT4PZ7
— Soaps and Sci-Fi (@SoapsandSciFi) November 21, 2021
A cause of death was not immediately made clear.