Jim Belushi, an actor and performer of limited range who has gone a long way in his career based on his famous last name, was named on Tuesday as grand marshal for next year's Gasparilla Parade.
We learned the news from NewsChannel 8's Jeff Patterson, who wrote that the parade is ramping up its "star power" by nabbing the Chicago personality.
Really? I know Gasparilla is a fun event for people who like to start drinking at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, so maybe the sight of the famous actor will make the day one to remember.
But because we're fans of comic David Cross, we have to admit we've come to think of Belushi in a somewhat less positive light over the years.
Cross, in his book I Drink For A Reason, wrote that he met Belushi on the set of the first film that Cross ever worked on, a 1995 flick called Destiny Turns On the Radio. He writes about meeting a woman on the set who had a sick 8-year-old boy who was a fan of Belushi (Cross writes: "Now, this is the one part you might have some legitimacy issues with "What eight-year-old is a huge Jim Belushi fan?" you might say. But I swear to you that is what she said.")
The upshot is, Cross, who had never met Belushi even on the set as they didn't have any scenes together, blew off Cross's request that he give the young boy an autograph.
Cross discusses his issue with Belushi at an appearance at the Hollywood bookstore Book Soup approximately a year ago: