John Belushi's Final Party: Part 4

The media, always looking for dirty gossip, went into overdrive. They portrayed John Belushi as an out-of-control drug fiend, intent on destroying his life without caring for the consequences. Stories about John appeared in the press, drug stories, that were later shown to be false and distorted. It is easy to defame the dead, there is no legal recourse. So, the media, as they always do, had a field day. John's family and friends jumped to his defense, claiming the stories were falsehoods and the man they loved was not out-of-control. Perhaps, the last month of his life, yes, but he was not a drug fiend. That fact that John Belushi was an addict---- not just to drugs [namely, cocaine] but to life itself was lost on the media. They wanted dirt. And, the media found a co-conspirator in the LAPD....... From the moment that John Belushi was found dead, it presented an enormous burden for the LAPD. The ''sting'' operation gone bad that the Drug Squad was planning on celebrities---combined with the other scandals about underage girls and police brutality--- made it a hard lot for the police. The inconvenience of the Belushi's death was a major problem because John Belushi was one of the celebrities they were trying to bust. So, the LAPD took a page from the scummy media and decided to destroy John's character, with Police Chief Darryl Gates calling Belushi a ''horrible person''. There is substantial evidence that the police were feeding bogus drug stories to the media about Belushi. But, the most interesting fact was the quick closing of the John Belushi case after just a few weeks. Cathy Smith and her involvement was not investigated. Nor were the other people involved in Belushi's last week, people like Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, John's friends Nelson Lyon and April Milstead. The police shut the door quickly. But many questions still were on people's minds........ Such as......1. If Cathy Smith shot up John Belushi the last time at 6:30 am on March 5th, as she claims, [and the autopsy stated that it was unable to determine the time of this last shot] why did John Belushi immediately not go into cardiac arrest? When someone overdoses, it is an instant response, as the heart shuts down. But, Smith claims that Belushi was alive for a few hours after that, snoring loudly as she left the premises. Before leaving, she had awakened him when she heard him making ''strange sounds'' from the bedroom. Are we to believe that Cathy Smith woke up John Belushi right in the middle of a drug overdose? If she did, then, it is one for the medical books because it is an impossibility....... 2. The police car outside Bungalow 3 around 11 am. Two witnesses that worked at the Chateau Marmont--- the security guard and the maid----- put the LAPD in John's room an hour and a half before Bill Wallace discovered the body. Why were they there? Did Cathy Smith, after leaving with John's car, alert them? Did they discover John already dead? Was the drug bust to happen then? And, the darkest question: did the police murder John for some reason?........ 3. Why did the LAPD let Cathy Smith go after she had admitted to shooting up drugs and had the syringe and spoon with her with drugs on them? This alone would guarantee jail time for a convicted drug felon. Were the police trying to hustle her away, to get her ''Out of Dodge?''........ Cathy Smith would give an interview with the ''National Enquirer'' in July, 1982, where she proclaimed , ''I KILLED JOHN BELUSHI!''. The interview featured an obviously stoned Smith saying that she knew she was shooting John up with a fatal dosage in the early morning hours of March the 5th. She called it the ''Coup De Grace'', which is the French term for ''Final Blow'', designed to kill someone. Calls to the LA District Attorney's Office by the Belushi family seeking a prosecution of Cathy Smith ultimately brought two counts of involuntary manslaughter against Smith for administering dangerous drugs. Basically, Cathy Smith was charged with shooting up John Belushi and indirectly causing his death. Whether Smith intentional meant to do it was open to debate. Her statement using the term ''Coup De Grace'' is revealing....... In March 1983, Cathy Smith was arrested after losing a fight for extradition from her native Canada. Her trial would finally happen two years later and she would be convicted of the involuntary manslaughter charge. She was sentenced to three years in prison, of which she served a year and a half. After being released, she would stay clean for a couple of years before being busted in Canada on drug possession. She would get probation. From 1991 until this day, she has not had any busts with the police. She speaks at drug abuse clinics and seminars about the evils of drugs......... Other people on that last night of John Belushi's life stayed haunted for years on what had happened. Nelson Lyon, John's friend and fellow ''speedball'' imbiber, saw his career in writing collapse. He blamed himself for the foolish behavior during that fateful week and for not stopping John. Lyon would drift in and out of show business. He would die of liver cancer in 2012, a broken man....... Robin Williams would testify in a grand jury investigation of that March 4th/5th party night. He told his story with just the facts, as he knew them. Williams would have an extraordinary successful career in movies. One notable film he did was ''Awakenings'' with Robert De Niro. John Belushi's death would straighten Williams out, with him giving up alcohol and drugs because of what he feared may happen to him. But, he would have slips, particularly, with alcohol, and he would fight his demons for the rest of his life. In 2014, Robin Williams committed suicide by hanging....... Robert De Niro also flourished in films, going from one brilliant performance to another. He would never fully comment on what had happened that night at the Chateau Marmont with Belushi. But, he would fiercely defend John if anyone criticized him in his presence. He continues to make movies today, a sadly pale imitation and parody of what he once was........ The LAPD continues to be rocked with scandals and allegations. In the case of John Belushi, where many in town believe that the police either botched a sting operation by using Cathy Smith as the go-between, or, in fact, murdered John Belushi for whatever reasons, the police still have not adequately explained their actions in the investigation, even after 34 years have passed since Belushi died. Too many holes in the ''official'' story, too many rumors based on fact......... I do not believe that the LAPD had John Belushi murdered. There is no reason to have him killed. But, I do believe that he and his friends, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, were being set-up to be busted. And, the police department used a known drug addict like Cathy Smith to doing the dirty business of casting the web to trap them. But, Cathy Smith went off the script of the movie the police had designed and got too close to Belushi and gave him more drugs than she was supposed to. I do think it was an accidental overdose, that Smith was not trying to do harm to Belushi. They were just two sad people dealing in their own private demons and the drugs made them forget the monsters that always hovered close to them in sober moments........ John Belushi was responsible for his drug intake. No one had to force drugs in him. Even Dan Aykroyd says that John was probably controlling everything going on around him. John was a victim of his own excesses. Like any addict, he wanted to stop, to be clean. His intentions were good but the demon desire would run right over any real progress of sobriety. John Belushi had a glorious life and gave many people many laughs throughout the years. Yes, the ending was sad. But, his life, on the whole, was fun-packed and exciting. It is too bad that his legacy is besmirched by how he died. But, the thing I remember most about him----- and , I still watch his work from time to time---- is that he made me laugh and made me happy........ I just wish he made himself happier.........