“I give so much pleasure to so many people. Why can I not get some pleasure for myself? It's all false pressure; you put the heat on yourself, you get it from the networks and record companies and movie studios. You put more pressure on yourself to make everything that much harder.” John Belushi
Sometime in the springtime of 1979, I met John Belushi for the first time in the parking lot of the Hollywood Palladium, where the scenes from the now cult film Blues Brothers were being filmed. Belushi was like an overgrown teenager, wilfully embracing mayhem with a mischievous grin and meeting you with a big, giant, friendly hug. He couldn't be kinder, and I sensed he didn't and wouldn't unveil his genuine emotions, attempting to hide them behind a thin veneer. Within a moment of meeting him, I was covered by his warm, loving embrace, a big hug from a bear of a man enveloping all 105 pounds of me when we met. It was a warm welcome by someone who had never heard of me except my husband at the time, Jonathan Pendragon, John Belushi’s stunt double for several scenes in the movie. My first impression of John was one of a genuine, authentic person with a true heart. There was an energy about him unmatched and unaligned with his physical being. His constant kinetic energy was out of synchronization with his overweight body. But in this physical condition, John defied physics and actively participated in hobbies like martial arts and some gymnastics. When meeting me, John cartwheeled over to greet me, spinning around and going upside down. Afterward, he continued displaying other physically demanding feats, including karate moves. He and Jonathan instantly bonded because of their mutual interests and physical activities.
What struck me most about John after meeting and observing him that day was a foreboding feeling he wasn't going to be with us much longer. It was an intuitive feeling combined with the understanding that someone appearing out of shape like John and exercising like an athlete was destined for a possible heart attack. I didn't think John had much time to live. My premonition was correct when, a few years later, in 1982, John was found dead in his Chateau Marmont hotel room from a speedball - a mixture of heroin and cocaine cocktail injected in him by his drug dealer friend Cathy Smith. It all made sense; John’s exaggerated kinetic energy was driven by the cocaine he was said to have consistently used but tried to hide from many of his friends and associates. His autopsy revealed there were enough drugs in his body to kill even a healthy man, according to the examining pathologist, and Belushi wasn’t healthy. The autopsy report listed 11 health abnormalities, including “pulmonary congestion with distended lungs,” a swollen brain, a swollen heart with “aorta atherosclerosis,” an enlarged liver, and obesity. John was only 33.
It was heartbreaking news to Jonathan and myself to hear of his death. We were teetotalers, so it was difficult to wrap my head around the cocaine and heroin addiction surrounding us in the entertainment industry in the late 70’s and 80’s. Personally, this fatal event contributed to a significant change in our lives. John had been staying at the Château Marmont writing his next movie for Paramount Pictures, which stunts would be an essential part of the film. John considered Jonathan his stunt double and consulted him for stunt ideas for a movie after they united following Blues Brothers. Jonathan was a stunt coordinator on Continental Divide, where he choreographed and doubled John falling down a mountain. It was also where Jonathan met author Hunter S Thompson, and the three formed a triune friendship on the set. John disagreed with Paramount executives and felt disappointed when he didn't please them with his film proposals. But instead, they wanted him to develop their script ideas, which he accepted when they threw $12,000,000.00 his way. So he had mixed emotions about the deal - loving the money but disappointed his script was turned down. One of the biggest hurdles a performer faces is conquering disappointment. It's an assault on your ego and soul to be turned down, but 90% of the time, an entertainer hears the word “NO.” You get depressed and want to quit, and the rejection can make you sad and depressed. You must learn to control your heart, believe in yourself, and focus on the 10% “YESES.” John responded to Paramount’s rejection and offer by going on a cocaine and heroin binge by nightclub hopping in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills the night before his death. Belushi’s disappointment, rejection, and disbelief, combined with feelings of ecstasy, satisfaction, and appreciation, created a perfect emotional storm in his heart, only assuaged by a night of drug consumption. I guess he thought he'd feel better later the next day, but the sun fell on that dreadful time, leaving a void in the universe where this talented and gentle soul once resided.
John’s untimely death sent shock waves in the world of entertainment. Many people's lives were profoundly affected, psychologically and emotionally, by financial responses extending to those who had never met John. Everything he was working on was canceled, and the dominos fell from the top echelon at Paramount to a cab driver named Billy Kopecky, whom he met at the Beverly Hills Cafe and went with John to his car to do a few lines of coke. He said Belushi mentioned that many friends he had once helped were now backstabbing him. “He seemed to me like someone who thought the only way he could be accepted by the rock & roll crowd was by doing drugs,” said Kopecky. When I think about how John got into drugs, I believe he just wanted to be received well and worked hard to impress people. He did with me, charming me every time I met him.
The way his death deeply affected us was life-changing because, up to that point, we were at a crossroads in our professional life, where our magic career began to conflict with our stunt work. John‘s death was a way to force us to focus more on magic. Eerily serendipitous was Natalie Wood, who had died approximately three months earlier. I was asked to be her swimming double in her next movie following Brainstorm, which I'll discuss in my next Substack. Those two casualties heavily affected our decision to expand our magic career, which was exploding at the time with demands for our performances. The universe does that; when you can't find your compass to locate the correct direction, God will point the right way when our spiritual antennas are working. But you must trust in God and not drugs, or God can’t align your path.
I'm unsure how Jonathan landed doubling John Belushi in several scenes of the Blues Brothers, including the ionic back handsprings down the church aisle. By that point in his career, he had made many connections and had worked on several big film projects. The fit of him as John Belushi was perfect, and they became friends. Through Gary McLarty, the stunt coordinator who made thousands of dollars off of the Blues Brothers movie, Jonathan learned much of that money went up noses when Gary commented on Jonathan’s attire, saying something like, “ I can tell you don’t do drugs, Jon, because you wear nice threads” The fact significant players were doing coke on the film including John perhaps was the reason for the poor numbers during filming prompting Lee Wasserman head of Universal Studios to investigate the situation. Although John’s not to be blamed, he did bear some responsibility for some of the failures pointed out by Wasserman. It was discovered on days when Belushi indulged in cocaine, production stalled, and time was wasted. Money was being burned, and Lee Wasserman tried to stop the fire. When it opened, though, Blues Brothers was successful. On June 20, 1980, it took in $4,858,152, ranking second for that week (after The Empire Strikes Back). The film, in total, grossed $57,229,890 domestically and $58,000,000 in foreign box office, totaling $115,229,890, ranking 10th at the box office for the year. So, in the end, everything pulled together, and the film was successful with a considerable cult following today.
The most notable features in the Blues Brothers are the musicality, comedy, and amazing stunts. Gary was given a substantial budget for stunt work, which was used for dynamic scenes of gymnastics, demolishing a mall in Chicago, where Jonathan also performed stunts) and to create incredible automobile stunts unmatched in the industry during that time. Jonathan’s performance of his backhand springs down the church aisle, landing at the feet of James Brown, playing the pastor of the Triple Rock Baptist Church, caused Gary McLarty later to comment that Jonathan’s gymnastics upstaged his expensive, daring car stunts, making Jonathan’s feat one of the most memorable in the industry. Comparison to the spectacular chase scenes in the movie was quite a compliment from Mc Clarity. Reviewed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, who wrote this about the car scenes, “The best is a three-vehicle demolition of an indoor shopping mall, a police car plunging into the side of a large truck, and the "Bluesmobile" leaping across a drawbridge open over water. Gary McLarty's stunt crew deserves a standing ovation”. To this day, everyone remembers the backhand springs. But they can’t always remember recalling the exact chase scenes. When I tell people Jonathan performed the backhand springs for John in Blues Brothers, they get excited because the scene is embedded in their memories. They immediately connect to that particular scene in the movie where Belushi, playing Jake, walks into the church with Elwood, played by Dan Aykroyd, during a church ceremony filled with holy roller-types dancing and singing. John‘s character, Jake, has an epiphany and sees the light, causing him to let loose and negotiate his way down the aisle, avoiding hitting the dancers and singers as he did back handsprings. It was a stellar performance and made perfect by Jonathan‘s depiction of the character Jake, where he dawned pillows under his clothes to give him the needed fat padding to match John‘s look. Jonathan always put his costume on away from John’s observing eyes so John wouldn’t see the wardrobe person stuffing Jonathan‘s costume with the pillows. John performed a round-off, a half cartwheel where you land on both your feet facing the front and then execute your backhand springs from that point. So, editors connected John‘s round-off with Jonathan’s handsprings seamlessly. Likewise when, after Jonathan’s handsprings, editors integrated the last handspring with John’s comedic dancing. It is an electrifying scene perfectly timed between singers, dancers, and actors.
It was on the set at Universal Studios, where Jonathan and John became friends. Jonathan was hanging out one day in John’s dressing room when he was tired, so John generously offered him his dressing room bungalow for an afternoon nap. Although Jonathan had his dressing room, he didn’t have a nice bed, so Jonathan took him up on his kind offer and John left to return to the set. As Jonathan dozed into the dream realm, he heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Governor Jerry Brown (California Governor at the time) looking for Linda Ronstadt. He spoke to Jonathan for a moment, assuming he was John, and was shocked to see Jonathan wasn't John. I think the surreal moment freaked both Jonathan and the Governor out. It's hard to say for sure if Jonathan took his nap. Still, the encounter with Governor Brown and his bodyguards was priceless, especially the surprise on their faces when Jonathan wittily informed them he was John’s double. I believe they did a double take and then left the dressing room. It's unclear why Brown was searching for Linda Ronstadt in John’s dressing room, who he was dating at the time. John was very social, wanting many companions and friendships, so naturally, he'd know Ronstadt. Those are Jonathan’s memories told me, so I may not be exact about the details.
Jonathan performing backhand springs in church scene in The Blues Brothers
That day at the Hollywood Palladium, a scene with John and Dan Akroyd performing music with the other Blues Brothers band members was riveting listening and watching them perform Everybody Needs Somebody to Love Scene where Jonathan doubled John performing a few gymnastics, including a cartwheel. Although John could perform one, Jonathan did it because it gave John a rest. Today, when I watch the video of the scene of John and Dan singing, dancing, and playing music, I'm mesmerized by their motion and connection to rhythm. They exert a significant amount of energy, and I begin to understand part of how and why John was attracted to heroin and cocaine. The effects of coke usually make the user feel vibrant and zestful with a beautiful euphoric feeling; it gives you confidence and energy, making you more mentally alert and hyper-aware of your senses. The highs from cocaine are fast-acting and intense, so John was drawn to this drug and used it frequently to maintain his feelings because the lows after cocaine use include anxiety, paranoia, and feelings of low self-esteem. Hence, users increase their usage of the drug to attempt to bypass those negative feelings. As an actor or performer, it's tempting to value its worth because it promotes more straightforward stage presentations. Who doesn't want the exhilarating feeling of commanding the audience? But the good feelings you receive from coke are fake and don't endure time. Without a fix, you feel let down and sick. That's how John chose to live his life by continuously using cocaine and heroin in a perpetual cycle to avoid the horrors of coming down off the drugs. It's hard to analyze all that.
The Blues Brothers at the Hollywood Palladium
The end of filming was celebrated with a huge cast party on one of the large sound stages. It's the best party I've ever been, a party to remember. The concentration of so much talent, eating, playing music, singing, and dancing to the live music of The Blues Brothers, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, and Johnny Lee Hooker was out of this world and unique. I had idolized Twiggy since I was a pre-teen when she came to America during the British cultural invasions led by The Beatles in the early 60’s. There she was at the party, and I met her, we had a drink together and danced. Surreal isn't a surreal enough word to describe the magical experience.
I often wonder about the future if John had lived. At what point would he have sought help for his addiction? How would his next film turn out? Would we not have developed our magic show? Where would we be now? The juxtaposition of all those events makes me wonder so much about what stories the other future would have told. Our minds do that. We wonder about alternative future narratives. When I married Jonathan, my mind would wander back in my memories, recollecting my teen connection with Randy and wondering where that relationship may have gone. Then, here I am with Randy. God works in mysterious ways to capture our attention.
May John Belushi and Natalie Wood rest peacefully among the angels watching us. With so much information, I'm writing Part 4 of this series. I started out planning only two, but my stories grew, Lol.
Until next week, stay magical!
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Charlotte, this felt like a beautiful and poignant tribute to John Belushi and Jonathan with some deep insights and life lessons sprinkled along the way. You have clearly lived an interesting life and I can't wait to read more.
The richness of your joy and youth contrasts poignantly with your sorrow and loss... but what an amazing story, the tapestry of your life!