Blues Brothers: Private

by Judith Jacklin, Tino Insana

Blues Brothers: Private is a book published in 1980, designed to help flesh out the universe in which The Blues Brothers (the first film) took place. "Private" was written and designed by John Belushi's wife, Judith Jacklin, and Tino Insana, a friend of John's from their days at The Second City.

The book consists of paperwork and clippings collected by Sister Mary Stigmata (the character played by Kathleen Freeman in the film) and stored in her personal files. The factoids provided in "Private" refer to fictitious events and fictionalized versions of real-life people (namely, the other band members). However, many real life and childhood photos of the actors and band members are used to illustrate the documents. The following are some of the revelations the book makes within this continuity:
* Jake Blues was born Jacob Papageorge, son of Artesia Papageorge, a woman in prison for murdering her husband, who dies giving birth and insisting he be named "Jake."
* As a baby, Elwood Blues was abandoned at a newspaper stand. He was initially named after Mike Delaney, the investigating patrolman, so his birth name is Elwood Delaney.
* Carrie Fisher's character in the movie is named Camille Ztdetelik.
* Steve Cropper was raised Amish, but left the Amish country to become a musician.
* Alan Rubin "looks Italian, acts Italian, but is Jewish".

This title is currently out of print.

Genres: Humor

150 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 1980

Reviews

[H R Koelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of made-up facts, police reports, report cards, psychological tests, etc. for the fictitious characters Jake and Elwood Blues. It's mildly entertaining, but fell a little flat for my sense of humor. You can read everything in just a few hours. It's not really a book, per se. It has a kind of scrapbook feel to it.

There's a funny letter from Carrie Fisher's character to John Belushi's character requesting payment for their canceled wedding because Jake went to prison for armed robbery. She requests repayment for items such as 1 dozen crotchless panties ($15), and handcuffs ($13), which they evidently needed for their honeymoon at the Cherry Inn Motel in Traverse City, Michigan (non-refundable deposit $34.18).

Weird examples from Elwood's (Dan Aykroyd's) juvenile psychological test includes questions and answers such as: Do you think dirt is an important part of your diet? Yes; Would you wear two different color socks? Yes; Do you envy your father's penis? No answer; Do you hide things in your mouth? Yes.

You can buy used copies for about $70 (in 2021), but I don't think it's worth it unless you're an extreme hardcore fan of the original Blues Brothers movie. I borrowed a copy through my local public library's interlibrary loan service for free. I got a few chuckles from various things I read, but I'm glad I didn't pay for my own copy.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 2 out of 5]

A movie tie-in out of left field, revealing Jake and Elwood’s backstory by way of found (often hand-scrawled) documents and archival photos—the latter used sparingly but adding value to a publication that seemingly anticipated the film’s cult status. For devotees only.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of documents from Jake and Elwood's life from the files of Sister Mary Stigmata.