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Chicago Loves the Belushi Brothers
09th June 2010
The shoes of John Belushi were awfully big, and really much too big for any other human being on earth to fill. He was a Chicago man, through and through, born here and grew up here. The formative years were spent honing a remarkable genius capability at the Second City. This is still one of the great improv companies, and perhaps the most eminent one in the world, devoted to helping new comic performers hone their skills. Here, John learned what everyone learns at the Second City, working on timing, responding to the needs of the moment, and how to think quickly.
These are all gifts that seemed to come very naturally to the talented performer, and there was truly a great deal of fantastic raw material to draw from. But everybody needs to learn, and spending some time learning how to take the wild horses of inspiration and discipline them so they don’t run you over is a good thing for everyone. Perhaps it didn’t take with John, in the final tally, because it does seem as though discipline either failed him or left him. It’s hard to say.
For those who want to explore the great city and mine it for signs of inspiration that have fed comic talents for a couple generations now, there are plenty of options. It has its share of excellent hangouts and four star hotels. Chicago also has lots of comedy clubs where you might catch the next rising star.
The chances of someone filling those shoes, however, are zero. The only one who could ever come close was his brother Jim , who followed in some of the same footsteps, including Second City and SNL fame. He has found a comic voice that is very different than his brother’s, however, and has come into his own comedic identity, and it’s a wonderful thing to see. There are certainly other young talents out there with the same wild horses driving them, and perhaps the lessons of one generation might be passed to the next, if they’re smart enough to pay attention.
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