A Perfectly Cromulent Blog

Oh, brother

At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, it must suck to be Jim Belushi. The guy's had to spend his entire career with the knowledge that, but for an ill-timed speedball, he'd be the Ted Raimi of comedy. Worse, he knows he owes everything to John. John helped get him into Second City while alive, and his post-mortem reputation greased the wheels for Jim's Saturday Night Live stint and subseuqent acting career. I wonder at what point Belushi the Lesser finally grew numb to these realities and just stopped caring?

If I had to bet, I'd say it was around the time he realized movies like Curly Sue and Abraxas (nothing like a cameo in a movie starring Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Sven Ole-Thorsen to stoke your ego) were his future. From that point on, you can see the man taking essentially every role lobbed his way, from Mr. Destiny to whatever K-9 sequel is going to video this month.

It's unfair, in a way, because John Belushi - like Morrison, Hendrix, and Dean - will always be remembered as much for what he didn't do as for Bluto Blutarsky and Samurai Delicatessen. John never got his own talk show that was canceled two weeks later, or ballooned up to 400 pounds, or saw gambling debts and alimony force him to make National Lampoon 2. Sure, feel sorry for the guy because he's dead, but compared to his little brother, he got off easy.

But bad enough as it is to be constantly (and unfavorably) compared to your dead brother, it may be time to pack it in when your fellow celebrities start taking potshots at you.

I'm not referring to David Cross' column on BobandDavid.com, which is often devoted entirely to Belushi. A sampling follows:

I’ve known J-bone ever since we met on the set of “Destiny Turns on the Radio”, or, as I like to call it, “Jim Belushi Turns on the Movie Going Public”. He was electrifying as “The Douche bag”. At least I think that’s what his character was called. I didn’t have any scenes with him but that’s what everyone was calling him on the set. Although some of the crew referred to him as a “Total Prick” so maybe he was playing multiple roles. Anyway, I had always been a huge fan of his and I was excited to work with a master. I guess his character in the movie was a real asshole and in the true spirit of a professional, Jim would remain in character even when he wasn’t shooting! He would always keep himself loose on the set by coming up with some fun “in character” shenanigans like making the wardrobe girl cry and then ultimately quit. He was awesome.

Good stuff. But no, I'm talking about being such an apparent blight on the face of humanity that Catwoman herself is out to get you:

Actor James Belushi is suing his next-door neighbor Julie Newmar for $4 million in damages, accusing her of a "campaign of harassment" designed to drive him from his home. Belushi, 50, claims in the lawsuit filed on November 2 that the actress destroyed a fence and landscaping at the home in the upscale Brentwood, California, neighborhood and repeatedly made defamatory statements about him to neighbors and friends. The lawsuit also claims that Newmar spied on Belushi's family from her residence and caused a nuisance by playing loud music directed at his backyard. The lawsuit claims, "Newmar has engaged in a malicious and premeditated campaign to prevent and destroy Belushi's quiet peace." Belushi says the actions of the actress, who played Catwoman in the 1960s television series Batman, caused emotional distress and harmed his reputation and career.

Frankly, I wouldn't be too keen on living next to Belushi either, and I find the whole line about "quiet peace" to be hilarious beyond measure. Maybe Newmar's bored, or maybe living next to Jim Belushi really is an exercise in eldritch horror beyond the ken of mere mortals. Either way, asking for $4 million dollars is ridiculous, as is the assertion that all this could possibly have harmed his reputation and career more than lending his voice to Benigni's Pinocchio already did.