I watched a program on A&E earlier today. The subject was “the tragedy behind the comedy”.
And while it wasn’t perfect (I thought they failed in not reaching back to the past to greats like Chaplin and Kovacs), it was pretty good.
The thing that really struck me about it was a faded clip of a skit John Belushi had done. It showed him as an old man visiting a cemetery full of SNL alumni, and gloating over the fact that he’d survived them all.
The wintry scene was filmed in shades of white and gray (picture above was taken from that), and a blurred, gleeful Belushi talked about how everyone thought fast living would make him the first to go. He then proceeded to dance an old man’s jig on their graves.
It actually made me shiver.
And wonder even more about the self-destructive element that seems so common in creative people.
Sounds visceral. Can be uncomfortable to see naked spite.
Part of it was definitely that, Bernita. I’m not sure it ever aired on SNL. It probably shouldn’t have.
The rest, I think, was seeing this ghostly form of the late Belushi doing a slow, eerie little dance around this cold, barren cemetery.
Here I go again–{shudder}.
So many creative people, so much disappointment. The more fragile souls don’t weather it well. Oh to be a scientist with black and white limits wrapped about one’s existence.
There is a slim thread between fantasy and reality. I doubt more creative people lose the thread at a rate more prevalent than regular people. It’s just their inter-dimensional travel is followed by the media. You’re right, that clip would have given me the chills too.
Suzanne, you’re right about the fragility. Maybe the ability to express that in some creative form is what makes them special…
Bernard, I hadn’t thought about that. I assumed such people were naturally more self-destructive…so many writers, musicians, comedians, etc.
But you have a point. They are followed by the media, and their tragedies made more public than the rest of us. Good point.
And yes, it was a creepy clip.