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List Price: $29.95 | | Publisher: Rugged Land
Salesrank: 54375
Released: November 1, 2005 |
| Our Price: $14.95 |
| Used Price: $8.64 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
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.
Belushi Reviews:
Belushi 
2009-11-09 - I Was born later(that same year) so I didn't grow up literally or figuratively speaking On John Belushi, But I heard about him growing up and saw re-runs and classic scenes of his Sketches, The Samurai, the guy who wouldn't leave, He was and is hilarious, I have seen the Classic "Animal House". The Man was/is a Legend, Sadly also a Tragic figure who can be compared to a Genius I did grow up on "Chris Farley". Belushi -The book- Is in Depth, Has Lots of Photos, History,and other tidbits about the man.
Best Belushi Bio!
2009-06-27 - I first noticed John Belushi when I was about 15 years old. I was watching Saturday Night Live and the Star Trek parody with John as Captain Kirk came on, and Belushi nailed the impersonation and it was so funny it made me choke on the ham sandwich I was eating. After that Saturday Night Live (it wasn't SNL yet) became something to watch and John's performances were stand out from the killer bees, the samurai, the diner cheeezborger cook, all were skits I wanted to see. When John went onto movies I went to see Animal House, 1941, The Blues Brothers, Neighbors. And one spring day in 1982 as I was leaving work I turned on my car radio and the first thing that came out of the speakers that afternoon was that John Belushi had died in L.A. and I said to myself `I hope it wasn't drugs.' It's stories like these that give oral biographies like Belushi: A Biography their power, the first hand accounts of the participants that give the account it's flesh and blood and if done right, provides more verisimilitude than the standard biography.
Belushi: A Biography was written by Judy Belushi Pisano and Tanner Colby, Judy is John's widow, and you can tell this was a labor of love not only for Judy but for all the friends, relatives, teachers, cohorts and colleagues who share their stories of the time they spent with John and how he influenced their lives. Just about anybody who you can think of from SNL, National Lampoon, guest hosts, people from the movies both in front of and behind the camera, and anyone from any part of John's life share their stories. Of course Dan Aykroyd, Judy Belushi, Harold Ramis, John's mother, Jim Belushi, John Landis, Bill Murray, Robin Williams, Bernie Brillstein, Buck Henry, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Tom Davis, Anne Beatts, Richard Belzer, you name a person they probably show up in here. And of course the book is filled with high quality pictures of John and Judy, a lot of them unseen and some breathtaking such as the picture on the opening page which shows John in an open field on a sunny day his arms raised to take in and be alive in the moment.
John Belushi was a larger than life person and a book can't really contain all that was John Belushi the flesh and blood person but Belushi comes closest, and the force of John`s life is ably transmitted through the pictures and words of his friends.
If you have read other reviews of mine you know I really like the oral biography. It isn't easily pulled off but when it's done right they make for a great biography! And Belushi: A Biography is a great biography and a great service to John and his fans.
A great book about a comic genius who died before his time.
2009-04-05 - I admit, I'm a big John Belushi fan, and an even bigger Blues Brothers fan. I first heard "Briefcase full of Blues" in my best friend's bedroom on an old "Reader's Digest" record player, and it literally changed my life.
John Belushi's star was on the rise. He had a top TV show, a top movie, and the top record album in the country back in'79, a record NO ONE has beat. Judy Pisano has done a wonderful job of showing the man behind the legend. It's full of pictures from her private collection, showing the rise an the fall of a true comic genius. We still miss you, John.
Awesome.
2008-11-19 - I am a HUGE Belushi fan and was not let down by this book. The blurbs from friends and co workers are funny and offer a closer look at the man that made us all laugh with the lift of an eyebrow.
Tanner Colby's Belushi
2008-09-07 - This book is very well written and beautiful to flip through. I recommend this book for yourself or a gift as well as Tanner Colby's more recent CHRIS FARLEY biography!
