Belushi: A Biography [Hardcover]

Judith Jacklin Belushi (Author), Tanner Colby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

On the day he turned thirty, John starred in America’s number-one movie (Animal House), starred in the number-one late-night show (Saturday Night Live) and had recorded the number-one album (Briefcase Full of Blues). All from a guy who was never supposed to make it out from behind the cash register of his family’s Chicago diner. How did this Albanian immigrant’s son capture a nation’s imagination and come to embody all the glory and tragedy of the American dream? It was one high-price, high-speed, short-lived wild ride.

BELUSHI is a whirlwind of a book, filled with never-before-seen photos and provocative, intensely personal testimonials by just about every major comedic figure of the last half century. Here is the remarkable and raucous story of a larger-than-life figure who danced out at the precipice of American fame.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through brief sound bites from friends, family members, fellow comedians and entertainment industry big-shots, this surprisingly touching oral history of one of the best-loved American comics portrays John Belushi as a rags-to-riches hero who became a larger-than-life star before overdosing on heroin and cocaine at the Chateau Marmont in 1982. Pisano, Belushi's teenage sweetheart turned wife, compiled the book from a series of interviews conducted shortly after her 33-year-old husband's death, and charts the Belushi myth, as told by Dan Aykroyd, Carrie fisher and Al Franken, among many others, from John's Chicago childhood through after his death. Highlights include Belushi's role as the Blue Fairy in a High School pageant, in which he was characterized as "a man who did not resemble a woman;" the evolution of The Blues Brothers from Saturday Night Live skit to major label band; and the harrowing accounts of Belushi's final weeks. Readers will be entertained and moved by this deeply personal account of a talented and complicated man. Family snapshots as well as behind-the-scenes photos complement the story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Pisano's second book on the Saturday Night Live star (remember then-Judith Jacklin Belushi's Samurai Widow, 1991?) drags in an accomplice to collect quotes from eyewitnesses to John Belushi's life and career, combine them with dozens of photos (including family and college shots), and present a sort of oral history of the comedian's riotous professional rise and abrupt, mortal fall. It's a humorous, nostalgic show-biz-trivia goldmine. The thoughts of such collaborators and costars as Chevy Chase, Tony Hendra, and Robin Williams are mixed with those of pre-SNLfriends and college acquaintances. Lorne Michaels, Dick Ebersol, and Michael O'Donoghue describe working with Belushi on SNL and National Lampoon radio projects. John Landis and Tim Matheson contribute movie memories (Belushi "did the entire [Animal House] cafeteria line scene in one take"). Dan Aykroyd comments on it all. Al Franken's here, as is his oft-forgotten SNL collaborator, Tom Davis. Mostly testimonial stuff, to be sure, but also the collected reactions to Belushi's drug-overdose death--an often-bitter, hugely disappointed set of remarks about his final days. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rugged Land; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590710487
• ISBN-13: 978-1590710487
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "See if you can guess what I am now.", November 8, 2005

By 

jenbird "book and classic movie fiend" (Havertown, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Belushi: A Biography (Hardcover)

John Belushi has been, I think, one of the most misunderstood late celebrities in recent memory. This was due in large part to a certain book by a certain reporter, whose name I won't speak here. Judy Belushi Pisano went a long way towards setting the record straight in "Samurai Widow," letting the public into her grieving process and the aftermath of John's death in 1982.

Now we've come full circle with this wonderful biography of the man himself, told by those who knew him best. John was many things to many people, and all facets of his life and personality are talked about in this book, often with amazing candor.

I also have to comment on the wealth of photos included in the book, many from the private collections of Judith and the Belushi family. They're a real treat to see (John was a very cute little boy) and add to the sense that this is a very personal biography.

Fans of John will love this book. It reveals the funny, kind, infuriating, generous person that we as his fans, who could only know and love him through his work, always knew he really was.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, lets you really get to know John the person, November 3, 2005

By 

belushi.com "belushi.com" (TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belushi: A Biography (Hardcover)

This book is full of wonderful photographs, it amazes me how
many of them make you instantly smile. Each chapter of the
book takes you through a chapter of John's life told by those
who knew him, loved him, and worked with him.

Reading this book gave me the opportunity to listen in on all
of John's friends and family sharing all of their experiences.
Hearing so many different ways to describe the events in
John's life, through so many different eyes, allows us to finally
begin to understand what kind of person he really was.

I knew all sorts of facts about John Belushi. But, now after
this book, I feel as I though I actually know the man. It is
this connection that inspires me to work even harder to keep
the memory of John Belushi alive.

Matt
[...]

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally, the TRUE story about John Belushi !!, December 3, 2005

By 

Fright Factory (northern Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belushi: A Biography (Hardcover)

Beautifully done...and now I really know, right from the start, how wonderfully talented John was. If you lived his fast paced life with tremendous pressures and being the best he could possibly be, you'd probably be hitting some drugs, too. Lets focus on who the man really was and about all of his close friends who really loved him. Judy Belushi Pisano does an excellent job putting this book together. What a talent she is a fantastic achievement. I couldn't put this book down and I have the rings on my ass to prove it !!! Now John would have appreciated that comment !