Ghostbusters icon Dan Aykroyd blasted California life as ‘medieval’ in comparison to his peaceful existence in his native Canada in a recently resurfaced interview.
Aykroyd, 74, appeared on the Adam Carolla Show in 2023 where he waxed lyrical about the vast differences between living between Los Angeles with the city’s homeless encampments and his estate in the countryside of Eastern Ontario.
The actor, worth an estimated $200 million, praised Santa Monica for its ‘harmony, peace, joy by the sea,’ but added ‘It’s beautiful there, beautiful houses and beautiful shops and lovely wide boulevards and 60,000 homeless.
‘So the underside and the overside will always, always be there.’
‘We’re living in frankly medieval times. You go, I drive very carefully in the car. I don’t drive prison hours at night, have a gated place to live … lock up at night.’
Aykroyd, who shares three daughters with Donna Dixon, said he felt compelled to ‘bring my family close’ in California, saying, ‘whereas really I would like to take my family and let them run in the park at 1 in the morning. But, no. We have to be so guarded now.’
Ghostbusters icon Dan Aykroyd blasted California life as ‘medieval’ in comparison to his peaceful existence in Canada in a recently resurfaced interview
Aykroyd, 74, appeared on the Adam Carolla Show in 2023 where he waxed lyrical about the vast differences between living between Los Angeles with the city’s homeless encampments and his estate in the countryside of Eastern Ontario – seen in Ghostbusters II in 1989
Carolla added, ‘Well, what we’re living in, especially in California, is you have Jay-Z and Beyoncé buy a $200 million house in Malibu, but in order to get there, you have to drive through a homeless encampment.
Aykroyd responded, ‘They got a deal, by the way. It’s worth $700’ with Carolla saying, ‘That’s where we’re at, which is ultra rich and then people just expiring on the streets in squalor.’
Aykroyd said, ‘Well, thankfully, knowing people like that, they’re going to drive through their driveway, see that, and immediately start to act to try to alleviate and help in some way, because that’s the kind of people they are.’
Aykroyd said a visit from a friend from Israel who stayed on his farm in Canada had caused him to reflect on how lucky he was to live in a country free from war.
The actor said: ‘Here I am driving through the bucolic countryside … and we’re in Canada. We’re driving to the drugstore to get an ice cream, and he tells me, “What it is like to live in a country without war?” I thought to myself, “Boy, do I take things for granted, you know, around this place.”
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for comment and has yet to hear back.
Aykroyd separated from Dixon in 2022 after nearly 40 years of marriage.
The couple were introduced on the set of the cult comedy Doctor Detroit, which Dan led and Donna played a supporting role in.
The actor, worth an estimated $200million, praised Santa Monica for its ‘harmony, peace, joy by the sea’, but added ‘It’s beautiful there, beautiful houses and beautiful shops and lovely wide boulevards and 60,000 homeless’ – pictured an unhoused person in Santa Monica
Aykroyd said a visit from a friend from Israel who stayed on his farm in Canada had caused him to reflect on how lucky he was to live in a country free from war
Aykroyd, who shares three daughters with Donna Dixon, said he felt compelled to ‘bring my family close’ in California, saying, ‘whereas really I would like to take my family and let them run in the park at 1 in the morning. But, no. We have to be so guarded now; seen in 2016 in Hollywood
The film was shot in 1982, and they married in 1983, the year of its release.
Prior to starting his long-term relationship with Donna, he was briefly engaged to the late Carrie Fisher, whom he popped the question to while filming 1980s The Blues Brothers, though she later called it off after reuniting with her ex Paul Simon.
In a 2014 interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Aykroyd explained what it was about his wife that fascinated him.
‘You gotta find the right person — look them in the eye, have them look back, and know their soul,’ he said. ‘She’s a Southern woman who is understanding and doesn’t mind dealing with the boys from time to time. I call her the White Goddess. And I’m the Green Demon.’
Aykroyd, who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is best known for his early stint on Saturday Night Live, before he transitioned into a successful film career that included the Ghost Busters franchise, which he costarred in with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
His biggest commercial successes were in the 1980s, but he has continued to work steadily in recent decades.
In 2007, he branched out into liquor sales by founding Crystal Head Vodka, a high-end vodka bottled in a glass skull.
