Happy birthday, Jim Belushi: Do you know your Litgo from your Ridzik?
Jim Belushi was a god in the '80s. Great roles, great laughs, one good movie after another ... well, up until 1989 when he cranked out K-9 and Homer & Eddie. (All is forgiven though after Salvador and About Last Night.)
But you know the best part about Belushi, who turns 55 years old today? His character names. Leave it to saps like Keanu Reeves to have lame characters named "Johnny Utah." Belushi's names come straight out of the phone book in Chicago, where he grew up. (For crying out loud, he was Dr. Rock in one flick!)
See if you can match the character names with the movie. All these are from movies between 1986 and 1991:
CHARACTERS:
1. Art Ridzik
2. Bill Dancer
3. Patrick Martin
4. Rick Latimer
5. Nick Pirandello
6. Doctor Rock
7. Bernie Litgo
8. Jimmy Dworski
9. Larry Joseph Burrows
10. Salvatore Buonarte
MOVIES:
a. Salvador
b. About Last Night
c. Taking Care of Business
d. Red Heat
e. The Principal
f. Real Men
g. Only the Lonely
h. Mr. Destiny
i. Little Shop of Horrors
j. Curly Sue
(Click the comments area below to see the answers)



As we continue our quest to identify the 


Here's my theory, and feel free to tell me I'm wrong: I can pass on "Cocktail." Pretty sure I can kick "The Karate Kid." Because when it comes to Elisabeth Shue, I'm ga-ga over "Adventures in Babysitting."
Here's a shocker for you: The Princess Bride, the ultimate fairytale movie of the '80s, is now 20 years old. The 1987 film had an impressive cast, including Cary Elwes, Robin Wright-Penn, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage and Billy Crystal.
Thanks to a career that spans far more than the '80s, Cosby's in the Cooperstown of TV history, but I'm going to make the case that the "The Cosby Show" (1984 to 1992) was his biggest contribution. (Yeah, even more that Pudding Pops.) It basically led off what became NBC's "Must See TV" night on Thursdays -- long before Tivo make such an idea obsolete. It was the top-watched TV show for five straight seasons (1985-90). And TV critics can debate all they want on whether the show should be chided for ignoring racial issues or celebrated for erasing racial stereotypes. The bottom line is that the show was as educational as it was entertaining.
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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