Territorial Bloggings
A Cogent Mélange of Lutheran & Pop-Culture Punditry
05-Mar: Today in History (John Belushi)
March 5, 1982 - John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose, at 33 years of age.
WDTM? It means that we lost a comedic giant. And there’s no more bitterly ironic reminder of that loss than to view his brother Jim spew his thin comedic gruel each week on According to Jim. (I kid, sort of. I actually kinda like Jim Belushi…)
I still remember sitting in the Lutheran High North bleachers on that Tuesday in 1982, with the other members of the LHN Freshman basketball team as we awaited the start of the JV game against Detroit Country Day. It was initially memorable because we were getting to see the JV play. Normally, we didn’t because we would have a game scheduled against the same school as the JV & Varsity, but at the other location. Country Day, however, didn’t have a freshman team. So our date was open, and we got to hang around and be the cool guys that we knew (thought) we were.
Out of the blue, though, a rumor started making its way through the growing crowd. That John Belushi had died. I was stunned (I still am). I was a huge Blues Brothers fan (I still have both the vinyl and CDs of all three of their “real” albums) - over an above all his other work, Jake Blues was a monumental achievement. I’ve seen that movie & listened to the albums more times than I could even come close to reasonably approximating. That movie meant a lot to me, is closely tied to some special times for me, and helped cement a fondness that I had for Chicago long before I started living within the Toddlin’ Town’s gravitational pull. For that role, and for so many more, it was easy to see that John Belushi was a comedic genius. Sadly, he was also showing promise as a dramatic actor just before his death, as his role as the Mike Royko-esqe columnist in Continental Divide tantalizingly proved. He burned bright, and burned out, if not before his time, then well before we were ready for it to happen.
I remember how I felt when I heard the rumor, and then how I felt when I heard it was true. I don’t, however, remember the score of the game.
Oh yeah, and the 25 years ago part just makes me feel old…
-ghp
One Comment so far ...
It is interesting reading your vivid recollection of when you found out that John Belushi had died. I too have a vivid recollection…laying on my bed about to get up and get ready for school (freshman year Lutheran East I think—maybe it was 8th grade)when I heard on the radio that Jim Croce had died in a plane crash. I hadn’t had many (any???)real experiences with death and I was a big fan of Jim Croce (ah…Time in a Bottle, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown) I am aging myself I’m sure…you think you feel old with a 25yr old memory, just think how I feel with a 35yr old memory. Plus, when you were playing bball, your goddaughter #1 was already here and almost 1yr old. Now that makes me feel old too!
Comment on March 7, 2007 12:58 pm