JOHN BELUSHI 1949-1982

JOHN BELUSHI 1949-1982

At presstime, we were genuinely shocked to learn that John Belushi had been found dead in a Los Angeles hotel on March 12, at the age of 33. It�s already a clichē, but the fact that such an energetic presence ceases to exist doesn�t sink in very easily. Saturday Night Live made stars of almost all of its young comedians, but from the start in 1975, Belushi was a star among stars; even during their more successful shows one waited for Belushi...what would he do this week? Another Samurai episode, a gut-splitting �But noooooooo!� on the Weekend Update? His movie career was more erratic; for every Animal House freak, you�ll find somebody else who thinks the movie set back modern comedy 1,000 light years—but in retrospect, his films form an intriguing batch of work. He never had to repeat himself in the movies; you and I might have enjoyed watching him �Samurai� every possible occupation for years on end, but he deserved the chance to stretch out—and with the help of his constantly-writing pal Dan Aykroyd, he did. At the risk of being decked by a certain other editor here, I have to say his death affected me more than John Lennon�s did, mostly because Lennon�s hold on me had dissipated since the 60�s, while Belushi was still a constant pop cultural presence, what with new movies and stillfresh Saturday Night Live reruns. As much as Belushi loved rock �n� roll, his comedy easily touched more people than the average megabucks rock star. In one of those inevitable eerie �coincidences� that are recalled when somebody dies, just a few weeks ago Belushi was heard to say at a Pretenders concert in L.A. that a good epitaph for him would be �You could stop him, but you can�t stop rock �n� roll.� We�d beg to differ...Susan Whitall