Live From New York - James H. Miller [54]
That speech I did to the audience — the one where I said, “I don’t think I’m making it on the show” — that was during my “second cop” period. I’d really been there a pretty long time, and they were sort of stuck with me. I was there, they’d sort of hired me, I was getting paid, but I was playing that second cop every week. You sort of have to break through, be noticed by the audience. They have to understand you a little bit, see a little bit of who you are, but as the second cop you don’t really get those opportunities.
I’d actually had the idea to do something exactly like what it was, and that day when I went to work, Lorne said, “You know, I think you should do a direct appeal.” He had the same idea too. So I did this thing, I wrote the thing, and it was kind of funny, and I wasn’t too full of myself or anything. There was a couple tablespoons of humility in it, I got laughs in it, and I think the combination of the two broke some sort of ice, not just for me but for people watching, and they thought, “Well, okay, he’s going to be funny. He made us laugh with that sort of ‘I’m dying here’ thing” — which I’ve seen people do and die at. You know, I’ve seen people make that move before and fail, so the fact that I made that move and it was funny sort of took the pressure off. I felt pretty good about that. And it is sort of a funny water-shed. It’s a moment.
ROBERT KLEIN, Host:
I had hosted during the first season, but the next time I was on the show wasn’t until the third season, in ’77. And Lorne called me into the office that time and said, “You know, a lot has changed since you hosted. The kids have become celebrities — stars, you know — and the host is just one of the gang now.” I said I understood that fully. But the real difference was Belushi. He was a changed person. There was a lot of difficulty rehearsing with him.
JANE CURTIN:
When John started making too much money, and started doing too many drugs, the sweet John was gone, and the ambitious John took over, and that’s what was difficult to deal with. His ambition was just overwhelming, as was his need to self-medicate.
STEVE MARTIN, Host:
Once when it was very late after the show and everybody was in their limos and we were on like Seventy-second Street or something, Belushi got out of the car in the middle of the night and stood in the street screaming and directing traffic and being funny. And I thought, “Oh.” There was something about it that was forced. I remember feeling like John felt he had to do this stuff. It was what he wanted to be. He also did things that were unforced, but at that moment he was trying to fulfill an image.
CARRIE FISHER, Host:
I was hanging around with Belushi, though Lord knows how I got to him. Everybody kind of knew each other. These were people who were abusers, people who liked to drink and use and stay up all night. Once one got into that little society, you were well in.
Danny used to call John “The Black Hole in Space,” because if anything got near him, it disappeared into it. And he was also “America’s Guest,” because he literally could go to anybody’s apartment or house — and did — and say, “Hi, can I use your kitchen or your bathroom or your bedroom?” Or your anything. John was always kind of a little bit of an emergency happening — but a fun emergency. At that time, I don’t think anyone had said to me yet, “If John keeps this up, he will die.” That was like two years away. It wasn’t that dark.
HERB SARGENT, Writer:
I happened to be the one who broke the news to Belushi that Elvis had died. He had wandered into my office, there were just the two of us, and I told him I’d just heard it on the news. And he just froze for ten minutes. He didn’t move. He couldn’t talk. Nothing.
JOHN LANDIS, Film Director:
I’ve seen this attributed to John Lennon, but I know Michael O’Donoghue said it, because I was there when we heard Elvis died. My secretary