The John Belushi documentary that’s running on Showtime is quite good. It’s an oral history made up of interviews done by Tanner Colby and lots of archival footage from many parts of Belushi’s life.

If you don’t have Showtime, but want to hear some stories from his career (both on and off stage), you can listen to a conversation I had on December 9, 2005, with Judy, his widow. At the time, she was promoting a biography of John she wrote with Colby, based on his recordings. Judy told me stories about “Animal House,” “Saturday Night Live,” the origin of the Blues Brothers, and John’s less successful projects, like “1941” and “Continental Divide.” We also discussed his drug abuse, the speedballs that killed him, and the impact his death had on his friends.

Come to think of it, you might enjoy this even if you’ve seen the Showtime movie, as we touched on several stories that are not in the documentary. Listen to the conversation here.