i was an orphan in the blues brothers

[jellomnkey]

hello everyone! i had the pleasure of being cast as an orphan in "The Blues Brothers." even though my lines ended up on the editing room floor ("check it out! check it out! tonight only, from chicago...the blues brothers, rhythm and blues review! one night only, the fabulous blues brothers!"), i still have fond memories of those days. john belushi taught me how to make bear tracks in the sand on the beach (remember those people on the waterslide? i wanted to go swimming so bad that day), "if you make enough of these tracks all over the beach, people will think that bears escaped from lincoln park zoo." he then started trying to convince my mom that he was also a professional footprint maker for films and tv. "i made the bigfoot footprints on six million dollar man. that was me." i remember being confused about why there were four blues brothers. i didnt know what photo doubles were at the time, so it was weird to be talking to john belushi, yet see off in the distance, two other blues brothers walking along. the other weird thing was that the walls of the orphanage were a spongy rubber. i remember them shooting this scene with me another little boy playing ball. it was freezing in chicago that day! i had no jacket and i couldnt take it in my tshirt and shorts anymore. i turned and asked my mom if i could stop playing. i remember the wardrobe guy letting me wear henry gibson's nazi hat and john belushi's hat. as the years passed by, i ended up moving to california to persue further acting. i worked a lot as an extra, sometimes a stand-in, and other times a photo double, for various film and television projects. one of these projects was boston legal. i was called in to stand in for henry gibson (a judge). when the cameras stopped rolling and we were about to go on lunch, i went over to him and told him the story about how i once wore his hat. he was a kind little fellow. he told me that when the pope was in town in chicago at the time of filming, belushi wanted really bad to have the pope make an appearance in the movie. he kept asking landis to do it, but he didnt think it was a very good idea.

ive been hit with a film idea that i would dearly like to brainstorm with dan aykroyd and john landis about. if anyone knows their email address, please send it to me here: jellomnkey@aol.com

also...for anyone interested, i would like to take this opportunity to lead you towards some various fun and exciting projects i have worked on/am working on....

-"Max Neptune and the Menacing Squid!" this is a science fiction space saga that i am now in the middle of filming. it is based on/inspired by the old buck rogers and flash gordon serials. lots of lazer-dodging, rocket and jetpack flying, tentacle-fighting, and wisecrack-igniting. if you have some time, check out the myspace page at: www.myspace.com/maxneptune
we also have behind the scenes footage on www.youtube.com/maxneptune

-"Smashing Stereotypes." this is a film i worked on that is currently making the rounds in film festivals and will be available for rent on www.netflix.com in january07. its about a korean fella trying to get a break in hollywood. plenty of raucious (what does that mean anyway? ive never used that word before now) sensibility, clever humor, and intriguing viewpoints. check out the trailer on their website: www.smashingstereotypes.com

-"Harmony Heights." this is another film touring various film festivals (in fact, in january it won "Audience Favorite" at the "Tour des Artistes Film Festival in Long Beach"). its about four roommates evicted by their housing association for unruly behaviour. slip-n-slides, koi ponds, (every children's favorite television personality) travelling tom, and couches filled with letters are all sure to delight. the trailer can be found at: www.harmonyheightsmovie.com

-"Really Bad Movie." this is an animated film that will be soon rockin and rollin its way through animation festivals before ya know it! a group of four bumbling investigators are continually called upon to...er...investigate mysterious occurrences and absurd happenings. old live-action "b" movies combined with flash animation. check out the trailer at: www.reallybadmovie.com
or the myspace page: www.myspace.com/reallybadmovie

okay, that is all. thanks so much for your time
~curt clendenin

[JacobSteinAFM]

WOW. That's an awesome story! Thanks for sharing this with us!

Were you one of the kids at the beginning when the Bluesmobile pulls up to the orphanage?

[kasis]

That was a realy cool thing to read... Thank you so much!!!

[Scott]

Curt, welcome to Blues Brothers Central and thank you SO MUCH for sharing that with us.

[Mike]

Wow! You know how lucky you are to be a part of the GREATEST movie ever! Must of been cool meeting John Belushi!

[caramal]

Awesome.Cool to have a movie dude here.

[Mike]

I think he is the only movie guy! I remember Chris told me once in a PM that there are two band members, not the original. At least that is what I remember he told me.

[JacobSteinAFM]

Originally Posted by Mike

I think he is the only movie guy! I remember Chris told me once in a PM that there are two band members, not the original. At least that is what I remember he told me.

We have one of the Illinois Nazis here as a member- he was the one that drove the green station wagon. Also, I think there are a couple of audience members from the concert scene.

[Mike]

Oh! Gosh, i didn't realize we had so many actors on the site. Are they the ones who join and never really post and stay junior members for the rest of their lives?

[takkuneg]

Great story, man! Glad to hear your career is going good too

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Mike

Oh! Gosh, i didn't realize we had so many actors on the site. Are they the ones who join and never really post and stay junior members for the rest of their lives?

The reason we know who they are is because they posted and told us. Unfortunately they don't post often, but at least they posted in the first place which is more than can be said for some people. But hey, you don't need to be somebody special to post and say hello, so come on you lurkers!

[All_Or_Nothing]

Whoa!!
that is so cool!

i now have to watch that part extra carefully

[bluesharp]

Fantastic story!!
Thanks for sharing that with us!!
Lordy,lord,you got to hang out with J.B., !!

[bbcentral]

Welcome to the site!

Were you one of these orphans?

[jellomnkey]

i had no idea who John Belushi was at the time, but i remember him being much like a big kid. a very active imagination. my mom and dad were huge fans of the Blues Brothers SNL sketches, so she was a nervous wreck around him.

someone asked me if i was one of the little orphans in front of the orphanange when the Bluesmobile pulls up.... i remember them asking the kids of any of them knew how to ride bikes. they wanted kids on bikes, kind of riding along with the Bluesmobile, when they first pull in. i was so jealous. i didnt know how to ride a bike at the time. i was this [----] close to hopping on one anyway. how cool of a story would that have been, if that was the day i had first learned how to ride a bike?
it was around that time that i got asked to throw the ball back and forth with my little buddy in front of the steps.

someone else posted a link to a photograph of the orphans on the steps with Curtis! yes, by golly, there i am! my luke skywalker-haired head is floating there, in the bottom right corner. i am sitting below two kids who look like twins (one is wearing a hat) and little bill cosby sits on my left (he is leaning against the little redhead kid who brings the poster into Aretha Franklin's diner). i ended up becoming good friends with little bill cosby. i cant remember his name now, but we found ourselves bumping into one another at various auditions in the city of Chicago through our lives. one day, he and i were both up for the same part in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. on the way there, on the highway, the truck fumes upset my stomach so much that i threw up. i was willing to go onto the audition, but my mom took us back home. i was happy to see my little friend on that commercial.

also, if any of you are retro sci-fi fans, please take a look at the new trailer to the film i am acting in, called "Max Neptune and the Menacing Squid," on www.maxneptune.com

thanks so much for your time and questions!
take care!
curt

[440RULEZ]

So from your descriptions, this must be you, right? (click on photo)



And I found you in the movie credits as well:


On a side note you're the first person ever I heard from (other than me) who said he had / has stomach problems when exposed to truck fumes. - Brother in stomach

Do you have any memory of the Bluesmobile? Anything that appeared strange to you?

And did your mother by any chance take some on-set photos? Do you think you could find these somewhere?
People here would love to see these!

Thanks for sharing your story!
-Robert

[SolomanDHBlues]

Welcome to the boards, Curt! Saw your movie trailer and am passing it along to a buddy of mine who is working on an indie-comic of similar interest. I like the retro-feeling of the whole thing. Fun, fun, fun!

[All_Or_Nothing]

aww aint that a cute kid

[Steam McQueen]

Originally Posted by 440RULEZ

So from your descriptions, this must be you, right?

Wow. We have Jim Rockford and Geraldo Rivera on the job. LOL.

That's great work, 440RULEZ! Very efficient.

What a great start to a young actor's resumé. "I was an orphan in the Blues Brother's." Too bad he can't remember the name of "Little Bill Cosby." Very cool story.

[JacobSteinAFM]

LOL "Little Bill Cosby"

[Scott]

Little Bill Cosby's real name is probably in the credits there, but I find "Little Bill Cosby" more amusing. If he ever comes here and reads this, I don't mean any offense!

[bluesharp]

Those are the kind of cheeks you could just pinch

[twiszed]

me = jellous
that and i wasn't even born then so i couldn't even be in it D:
BUT! I'm happy to hera that you still remember those days with the great J.B. I wanna knwo if you got to meet Dan too. Or even get a little ride in the Bluesmobile.
Oh and Welcome to the site [better late than never]

[Guitarman5151]

Wow that's kinda cool that one of the orphans checked in to the site.

[Father Elwood]

Oh. My. God. It's moments like this that I wished I had joined this forum sooner.

You saw John in the flesh! I'm so excited for you!