Jonathan Arnold reviewed Belushi by Judith Belushi Pisano
Review of 'Belushi' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
What a fantastic book! It, obviously, tells John Belushi's story, a meteor of talent burning out by the age of 33. Not an overwrought, sensationalist book like some (look at you, hack Woodward), but a heartfelt and honest story of a man probably on the spectrum somewhere. Hard to believe he died almost 30 years ago. His talent is so infused and full of life force he feels like we lost him yesterday.
It is told via interviews with all kinds of people, from relatives to co-stars. His widow Judy interviewed a few folks right after his death (do I have to say untimely death?), but the project was too painful so she shelved it for 20 years. She unearthed the tapes and brought on Colby to help out and they created a real masterpiece. The interviews tell his story in a lively and passionate way, doing a great job …
What a fantastic book! It, obviously, tells John Belushi's story, a meteor of talent burning out by the age of 33. Not an overwrought, sensationalist book like some (look at you, hack Woodward), but a heartfelt and honest story of a man probably on the spectrum somewhere. Hard to believe he died almost 30 years ago. His talent is so infused and full of life force he feels like we lost him yesterday.
It is told via interviews with all kinds of people, from relatives to co-stars. His widow Judy interviewed a few folks right after his death (do I have to say untimely death?), but the project was too painful so she shelved it for 20 years. She unearthed the tapes and brought on Colby to help out and they created a real masterpiece. The interviews tell his story in a lively and passionate way, doing a great job of suffusing it with personality. My favorite series was about his early days in Second City and the idiot who ran it. One of his co-stars was talking about him and said "But he'll probably say John was like a son to him" and the next quote is from him that literally says that!
They talked about in the Notes on Sources and Methods section how they went about doing the interviews and how, besides fact checking as far as they could, they let the statements stand. Even if they were in complete disagreement, in which case they put them back to back to make it obvious. I absolutely loved the process and the results.
I have to admit to tearing up at the end, even though I know how it all goes. Especially the last part where they talk about meeting 1 year after his death and giving him the Viking funeral he always wanted. So touching. What a talent. What a loss.