John Mulaney Shares What Lorne Michaels Told Him About John Belushi: 'He Didn't Want to Die'

John Mulaney opened up about his struggles with addiction, his time in rehab, and a memorable call he received from Lorne Michaels about John Belushi during his appearance on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.

At the start of the episode, Mulaney spoke about his stint in rehab a few years ago, which became a big part of his 2023 stand-up special, Baby J. At one point, he recalled a particularly low point in his detox when he was grinding his teeth so much that one of his molars cracked. Mulaney said he went to see the doctor to declare he was leaving rehab: "I know, but I'm going. I've heard every argument that you guys have, but I'm going back to New York City."

Mulaney said the doctor "didn't argue or anything" but simply replied, "John, we both know how this movie ends." That convinced Mulaney to stay. 

A few moments later, Letterman asked Mulaney if, in light of his own stint on Saturday Night Live, he'd ever found himself thinking about John Belushi, the early SNL great who died from an overdose in 1982. Mulaney said "not actively," at least until Michaels called him while he was in rehab. 

Mulaney quipped that Michaels mostly "went on about how Peacock wasn't launching well on Samsung devices," but at one point, the SNL creator said, "I knew John Belushi for seven years. I've been talking about him for 48 years. That's the shrapnel that happens when someone goes down like that. John didn't want to die. He didn't plan to. Just because it's a story, just because it's set in stone like history, people don't want to die from this." 

After Letterman asked if Michaels' words conjured something new for him, Mulaney replied, "Thinking about the shrapnel you leave behind that way, yeah." 

Elsewhere in the episode, Letterman joined Mulaney for a tour of his old high school in Chicago, and they even took some questions from current students. Mulaney also spoke about his various stand-up specials and projects, why Jake Gyllenhaal's turn as Mr. Music in his Sack Lunch Bunch special is the best thing the actor has ever done, and fatherhood.

To that end, the episode features a scene with Letterman, Mulaney, and Mulaney's father, Chip, who talks about inspiring some of his son's best jokes — including Mulaney's famous bit about his dad pulling into a McDonald's drive-thru while his children screamed with excitement in the back seat, only to order a cup of black coffee for himself. 

Trending

"I was clueless," Chip admitted. "And as we pull out, my wife said, nicely, 'Do you know what you just did?' And then she explained that the kids were screaming 'McDonald's, McDonald's!' when I was pulling in, and I didn't deliver."

Mulaney then joked, "He thought we were cheering for the coffee!"