The name John Belushi conjures images of sword-wielding Samurai, cheeseburger-cooking Greek chefs, mashed-potato spewing human zits, and Ray Ban wearing ex-cons on a "mission from God." But his short life is also a popular metaphor for drug abuse and wild excess. His acting and comedy, undeniably energetic and highly creative, are overshadowed by his death, a tabloid cliché revisited every time another Hollywood star overdoses on drugs or alcohol.

In part, this sad legacy is influenced by Bob Woodward's clinical and unflattering biography, Wired (1984), in which Belushi is described as an insecure man who turns to cocaine and heroin to bolster his self-esteem. Woodward concluded that Belushi's extremes in personality were a representation of the 1970s and the drug-obsessed entertainment industry of the time. Yet this legacy is also inspired in part by Belushi's own stage, television, and movie personae, best exemplified in popular...