John Belushi is dead! John Belushi lives!
Twenty-five years after John Belushi (1949-1982) died (culminating a four-day binge in which he drank enough booze, snorted enough coke, and had a companion/drug dealer/fellow addict shoot him up with enough heroin-cocaine speedballs to kill a herd of elephants), all too many writers still can’t think straight about him.
During the last two to three years of his life, Belushi, who at his best was a wild man, careened down a path of steadily degenerating drug addiction. He either had a death wish, a teenager-style sense of immortality, or as a speedball-induced psychopath, was so far gone as to be past thinking in terms of death or immortality.
According to Tanner Colby, however, none of the foregoing applies. Colby co-wrote a biography of the comic actor, Belushi. I guess that makes him an expert. Colby asserts that, “John Belushi, deep down, was a stable guy who knew who he was, had a lot of confidence, wasn’t superficial but with no great internal trouble. I think that what happened to him was largely due to fame. For a year and a half, he was as big as Elvis.”
And deep down, I’m seven feet tall. So much for experts. In case you’re wondering, Colby’s co-author was Belushi’s widow, Judy.
John Belushi was never as big as Elvis – and I'm not even an Elvis fan. Had he been a nameless junkie, no one would have gone to prison for what he did to himself. Indeed, considering the depths of his abuse of drugs and alcohol, it's amazing he lasted as long as he did.
The cloyingly sentimental, unsigned March 5 Associated Press article, read by tens of millions, sounds like something from a fan site: “[He] brought renewed attention to Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and other R&B giants.” That suggests, ridiculously, that Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin had somehow faded into obscurity until Belushi rescued them. The writer succeeds in one swell foop at racially patronizing both Belushi and two of the greatest singers of the recorded sound era.
The brief hagiography also approvingly quotes fellow comic, Richard Belzer, calling Belushi an “impish genius.”
Tanner Colby is kidding, right? Very stable, no internal trouble, and a regular Buddhist monk. Oddly enough, in a 2005 interview plugging his book, Colby painted a very different picture of Belushi. “Our book captures all three sides of John, I think. There’s the hardworking actor dedicated to his craft, there’s the warm, generous and lovable guy who was everybody’s best friend, and then there’s the wild and self-destructive John who was racked by his own insecurities and driven to extremes.”
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
Nicholas, this article pissed me off, made me think, pissed me off again, made me think again, and finally got me to grudgingly agree with--not all, but most of it. Exactly what a good article should do. Nice work.
2 - Erika
John Belushi was a comedic genius, and that’s that. It’s really sad that people like you spend their lives criticizing others with talent in order to somehow justify your own lack of any creativity or aptitude. If you had any real talent you’d stop wasting your time blogging on ridiculous sites and bitching about beloved celebrities. But, wait… you don’t have any talent! Years from now, people will still remember John Belushi (and Dyke van Dyke and Andy Griffith), but I can bet no one will remember or care to remember you, Nicholas Stix. In the immortal words of John Belushi, “Go eat a bowl of fuck.”
3 - Nicholas Stix
"Nicholas, this article pissed me off, made me think, pissed me off again, made me think again, and finally got me to grudgingly agree with--not all, but most of it. Exactly what a good article should do. Nice work."
Thank you, Michael.
4 - Nicholas Stix
#2 " March 24, 2007 @ 21:09PM " Erika
"Blah, blah, blah."
Is that the best you can do?
Do you own a t-shirt that says, “My parents spent a fortune sending me to college, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt”? If not, you ought to.
Fuck you very much for your, ahem, commentary.
5 - Nicholas Stix
#2 " March 24, 2007 @ 21:09PM " Erika
P.S. Is that your real name? You wouldn't happen to be my ex, would you? If so, send my regards to your folks.
6 - J.J. Hunsecker
"'[He] brought renewed attention to Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and other R&B giants." That suggests, ridiculously, that Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin had somehow faded into obscurity until Belushi rescued them. The writer succeeds in one swell foop at racially patronizing both Belushi and two of the greatest singers of the recorded sound era.'"
It was not Belushi, but The Blues Brothers movie that brought attention back to those artists. Their stars did not shine as bright in 1980/81 as they had decades past. On the DVD, Landis talks about it. The truth is not racially patronizing.
You are right about him not being Billy Crystal. Belushi was way funnier.
7 - Carla
well aren't you a steaming clump of toxic waste.
like Erika said - you lack all of the creativity and aptitude in the world and then some. John Belushi will always live in the hearts of those who knew what a truly beautiful soul he had, and just what an amazing person/comedian he was. A piece of him still lives with each and every one of us, and if you weren't so wrapped up in your own lies about the cause of his death then maybe you'd realize that. This article really ticked me off, but then I realized, just who the hell are you to make me feel this way? I have an argument for every single word of this article, except for a select few:
"John Belushi was a talented guy, but Chaplin he wasn't."
Right. Chaplin he wasn't. A womanizing and abusive asshole he wasn't. You really need to sort out your priorities, Nicholas Stix. Want to be jealous of amazing men? How about you face them instead of taking it out on the keyboard where they can't spit on you or dump food on your head.
:)
8 - Nicholas Stix
Carla: "well aren't you a steaming clump of toxic waste."
"like Erika said - you lack all of the creativity and aptitude in the world and then some."
So, you have to echo another pathetic soul's talentless put-down. Is that the best you can do?
"John Belushi will always live in the hearts of those who knew what a truly beautiful soul he had, and just what an amazing person/comedian he was. A piece of him still lives with each and every one of us, and if you weren't so wrapped up in your own lies about the cause of his death then maybe you'd realize that."
You didn't cite one lie, because you can't. You are the liar here.
"Beautiful soul"?
Are you on drugs?
"Want to be jealous of amazing men?"
Why would I be jealous of John Belushi? He was not a great or amazing man. The question is, why would someone idolize a mediocrity? Why don't you at least idolize someone who was great, Carla? It's bad enough mindlessly goosestepping your way through life, but at least do your goosestepping behind someone serious! But you wouldn't know an amazing man if he stepped on your toes.
"How about you face them instead of taking it out on the keyboard where they can't spit on you or dump food on your head."
I'm a writer. The keyboard is my tool. What's your excuse?
I've been spat on, and I always responded by spitting back on my tormentor, and in one case, punching him out, as well. I've never had anyone dump a plate of food on me, but I'm sure I'd respond the same way.
I'm much better at what I do, than John Belushi ever was at what he did.