Marilyn's Photos -- Aug 12 2026 - The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers movie was on television last night. It was released in 1980. It remains a hilarious comedy of crazy antics, wild car crashes, and stand-out music scenes with Aretha Franklin, Ray Brown, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and John Lee Hooker.
What are those interesting facts about the movie that I likely don't know? I've never thought to research the movie and its making.
Dan Aykroyd's script was 324 pages. Director John Landis turned it into a standard shooting script in three weeks.
Dan Aykroyd and Carrie Fisher became engaged during the filming. Aykroyd saved her from choking on a Brussels sprout using the Heimlich maneuver and this is somehow linked to their romance. The story goes that she thought if she ever choked again, she'd need him there.
There were 103 vehicles destroyed int he making of the film, a world record at the time that held for two decades.
The Bluesmobile was actually 13 different Doge Monaco police cars.
John Belushi went through hundreds of pairs of sunglasses, resulting in getting the nickname "The Black Hole."
One of the stunt drivers was John Wayne's son - Ethan Wayne.
Paul Reubens, best known as Pee-wee Herman played a wait at Chez Paul restaurant. There were other notables playing small parts in the movie.
An somehow John Belushi performed his own cartwheels and round-off moves. And that was after he sprained his back and knee the day before the final concert sequence. The backhand springs were done by a stuntman, wearing a pillow-stuffed fat suit.
Here's the surprise information. There was push-back to the release of the movie. Theatre owners said: "This is a black movie and white people won't see it." Theatre owners didn't want black people in white areas, that's how strong the bias was - only 600 screens could be secured versus the normal 1,400.
With Cole's Water Pond store gone, I've lost easy access to water lilies. This picture is from a few years ago.
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