Bob Woodward - Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi

BELUSHI

The outrageous talent, addicted to life, with a huge appetite for drugs, food, and pleasure.

BELUSHI

The star who plummeted over the edge. And the friends, wife, agents, and groupies who couldnt stop him.

Wired is the most smashing drug book ever written.... A cautionary tale for our times.... Astonishing.

Liz Smith, Daily News (New York)

A fact-studded life story.... Belushi wanted it all and it all was too much.... Chilling.

The Washington Post Book World

Woodward follows Belushi from one circle of hell to the next.... Harrowing... compelling.

The Village Voice

BOB WOODWARD is an associate editor at The Washington Post, where he has worked for thirty-nine years. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for the Posts coverage of the Watergate scandal, and later for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or coauthored twelve #1 national nonfiction bestsellers. He has two daughters, Tali and Diana, and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, writer Elsa Walsh.

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Simon & Schuster Paperbacks A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1984, 1985 by Robert Woodward

Originally published in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd. Frome and London

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Simon & Schuster Paperbacks Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition March 2012

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Woodward, Bob.

Wired: the short life and fast times of John Belushi.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Belushi, John. 2. ComediansUnited StatesBiography.

I. Title.

PN2287.B423W66 1984 7 92.70280924 [B) 84-5334

ISBN 978-1-4516-5559-9
ISBN 978-1-4516-6598-7 (ebook)

Washington Post editor Benjamin C. Bradlee and Simon and Schuster president Richard Snyder were, as they had been on three previous occasions, the sponsors of this work. I cannot thank them enough for their many indulgences and kindnesses. Without them this project would not have been undertaken. Others who provided invaluable assistance include: Jane Amsterdam, for support, editing and toughness that aided at every step; Milton Benjamin for sound guidance; David Maraniss for advice, support and mature judgment; Carol Melamed for a lawyers careful read; Andrea Kingsley and Barbara Feinman for countless assists; Olwen Price for expert typing; Jennifer and Laughlin Phillips for housing on Marthas Vineyard; Broadway Video for tapes, photos and research assistance; Marcia Resnick for photos; various newspapers and magazines as noted in the text, especially Rolling Stone, for its chronicle of Belushi, the show business and youth culture.

Special thanks to Washington Post managing editor Howard Simons for prodding me along the way.

Others at Simon and Schuster who deserve many thanks are Ann Godoff, Michael Gast, Joni Evans, Dan Green, Judy Lee, Maria Iano and Alex Gigante.

Alice Mayhew, my editor at Simon and Schuster, worked hard and provided more attention and time than any author should expect. Her wisdom and honesty could not have been found elsewhere.

And to Elsa Walsh, my esteem and affection for direction, advice, an editors sharp pencil and a friends gentle encouragement.

John Ward Anderson, a 1981 Harvard graduate, assisted me in all aspects of producing this bookits conception, the reporting, research, writing and organization. His role could not have been greater. He is a dedicated journalist and tireless worker. This book is as much his as it is mine.

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In the summer of 1982 I received a call at The Washington Post, where I work, from Pamela Jacklin, a sister-in-law of John Belushi, who had died of a drug overdose three months earlier. She said there were still many unanswered questions surrounding Johns death, and she suggested I look into it. John Belushi was not a natural subject for my reporting; I had concentrated on Washington stories and knew very little about his show business worldtelevision, rock and roll, and Hollywood. But I was curious.

On Thursday, July 15, I took the shuttle to New York City to meet his widow, Judy Jacklin Belushi. My notes taken that day say: The house is subdued, a very dark place, and Judy is a peppy, small woman... she has a very precise memory and exact sense of what she knows, what she has heard, and where others she has spoken with get their information. Three weeks later I visited her again, this time for three days on Marthas Vineyard. She spent hours explaining John, his career and his life, perhaps to retrieve a memory and also an understanding. She did not romanticize; she seemed to stick to the facts as she knew them, and it became apparent that she, many of her friends, and many more of Johns former associates were willing to provide me with a detailed, relatively uncensored recollection of him, his career, and the events leading up to his death.