Albania awards famous Albanian-American actor

Tirana, Nov 11th – Albanian-American actor James Belushi was decorated in Tirana by President Bamir Topi for taking care of his family heritage. The award was given to Belushi “in gratitude to the man who inherited and preserved in the love for Albania and his Albanian descent”.
A first-generation Albanian-American, Belushi admitted he was not sure what he has done to deserve it – except that he has always been proud for whom he is and where he comes from. Belushi, 54, is best known for comic roles in the cult US TV series Saturday Night Live and “According to Jim” and has starred in numerous big-hitting films throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Belushi was born in Chicago as the third of four children of Adam Belushi, an Albanian immigrant who left his native Qyteze village in 1934 at the age of 15, and Agnes, who was born in the US to Albanian immigrants. His brother John Belushi was also a famous comedian and actor. “This is an important and heavy award with a big burden, which I don’t know if I merit,” said Belushi. “I was born and raised in America, but my genes are Albanian,” he added. Belushi came to national attention through his role in Edward Zwick’s film “About Last Night” with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. He stared his career on Saturday Night live, and in the TV series “Working Stiffs”. His credits since then show an extraordinary range: from James Woods’ spacey DJ buddy, Dr. Rock, to the mentally handicapped dishwasher befriended by Whoopi Goldberg in the Andrei Konchalovsky film, “Homer and Eddie”; and the defiant high school principal standing up to drug dealers in “The Principal.” In 2000 Belushi co-starred in MGM’s “Return to Me,” directed by Bonnie Hunt and starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver, and he received rave reviews for his work with Gregory Hines in Showtime’s “Who Killed Atlanta’s Children?”
Albania awarded the Honor of the Nation medal to people such as Mother Theresa, famous for her humanitarian work.
Jim Belushi flew all the way long from the States also to take part in the grand gala “I love Albania the most” directed by Vera Grabocka. For more than two hours the Albanian public learned something more about the human side of the Albanian celebrities well known all through the world and that make other Albanian proud of having the same nationality as Jim Belushi, Lorik Cana, Elisa Dushku, Ergin Kuke, Inva Mula etc.