Cathy Smith
Encyclopedia
Catherine Evelyn Smith (born Catherine Evelyn Smith, 1948 in Hamilton
, Ontario
) is a occasional backup singer, rock
star girlfriend
, "groupie
" and drug dealer, who served 15 months in the California state prison
system for injecting John Belushi
with a fatal dose of heroin and cocaine in 1982.
Smith had been paid for a front page headline story in the Hollywood tabloid the National Enquirer, where she stated she was the person who injected the actor with a fatal drug overdose. In 1984, Smith co-wrote a book entitled Chasing the Dragon which told her life story. The title is an allusion to Smith's heroin addiction. Smith appeared prominently in the Bob Woodward
book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi
, and was played by Patti D'Arbanville
in the film version
. She has been called a backup singer but has also been described as merely a groupie.
, later a member of The Band
in 1963. In Helm's autobiography, he recalls that Smith first met him in Hamilton, Ontario
. Helm, with friend and bandmate Rick Danko
, was in a band called The Hawks at the time (see Ronnie Hawkins
). At one point, the musicians were in Toronto facing a drug bust.
Smith has been connected to The Band's famous song, "The Weight
", released in 1968. Smith says in Rock and Roll Toronto: From Alanis to Zeppelin, that Richard Manuel
offered to marry her but she refused. Nevertheless, she continued to tour and party with Helm, Rick Danko
and Manuel through the 1960s. She later had an affair with Gordon Lightfoot
. After the affair ended, Smith returned to Levon Helm and the circle who now comprised The Band.
of Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
in the early to mid-1970s. At one point, she even drove their tour bus. Smith sang backup on Lightfoot's song "High and Dry" which was on the Sundown album. She apparently sang more backup on the album but Lightfoot mixed most of it out.
By several accounts, the Smith-Lightfoot affair was volatile and illustrated in the lyrics of "Sundown", Lightfoot's Number One hit and most financially lucrative song. It reflects the dark feelings Lightfoot was experiencing at the time. Drinking too much and married to another woman, he on one occasion broke Smith's cheekbone in a fight. Lightfoot has stated of his three-year relationship with Smith, "I was sometimes crazy with jealousy".
Bluegrass musicians Bruce and Brian Good, The Good Brothers
, who were one of Lightfoot's opening acts during that time, got fired by Lightfoot for "flirting" with Smith. Smith was cited in divorce papers, and shortly after his affair with Smith ended, Lightfoot was a party to the most expensive divorce settlement in Canadian history to that date.
In a 1975 interview, Lightfoot expanded upon Sundown and hinted at the worry he experienced in his relationship with Smith:
Lightfoot gave another insight into his relationship with Smith in a 2000 interview when he remarked upon "Sundown" being:
In 2008, Lightfoot gave an interview confirming that "Sundown" was written with his then-girlfriend in mind:
, who was struggling with cocaine addiction at the time. She sang on his song "Fearless" (1976) and co-wrote "Flash of Fire" with Axton (1976).
Smith became involved with heroin use in the late 1970s. In Bob Woodward's Wired, she appears as a drug dealer to Rolling Stones band members Ron Wood
and Keith Richards
during their touring and rehearsals as The New Barbarians
. She moved to Los Angeles
and as her addiction increased she became a full-time drug dealer and courier to Wood, Richards and others in the entertainment world. Smith first met comedian John Belushi
on the set of Saturday Night Live
in 1976 when The Band were the musical guests.
She later met Belushi again through Wood and Richards and was contacted by Belushi to purchase the drugs that eventually killed him. Smith alleges that she injected Belushi with 11 speedballs
(a combination of cocaine and heroin) at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, California
in 1982, and that this injection led to his death. According to Woodward, Robin Williams
was on the scene at the time, and was "creeped out" by Smith, whom he thought to be a "lowlife". Belushi had been battling cocaine addiction for years. He was not a heroin addict, though he had used the drug infrequently before his death.
Released after initial questioning on the morning of Belushi's death, Smith spoke briefly to freelance writer Chris Van Ness. Then, two National Enquirer reporters, Tony Brenna and Larry Haley, spoke with her and published their lengthy in-person interviews with her under the headline: "I killed John Belushi. I didn't mean to, but I am responsible." This led to the charge against Smith in Belushi's murder and 13 counts of administering cocaine and heroin. The National Enquirer reporters refused to testify at the subsequent trial and were threatened with incarceration by Judge Brian Crahan; however, he later vacated the contempt order.
Smith eventually returned to the United States, in June 1986 where she accepted a plea bargain
by "plead[ing] guilty to involuntary manslaughter
and several drug charges". She served 15 months in prison at California Institution for Women
between December 1986 and March 1988. She was deported to Canada after release and moved to Toronto "where she worked as a legal secretary and spoke to teenagers about the dangers of drugs".
Smith was arrested in July 1991 "with two grams of heroin in her purse" in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, for which she received a fine of CDN$2000 and "12 months' probation". She appeared in the E!
television network show True Hollywood Story
episode on Belushi's death which first aired in 1998.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) is a occasional backup singer, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
star girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
, "groupie
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
" and drug dealer, who served 15 months in the California state prison
California Institution for Women
California Institution for Women is a female-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California.-Facilities:...
system for injecting John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
with a fatal dose of heroin and cocaine in 1982.
Smith had been paid for a front page headline story in the Hollywood tabloid the National Enquirer, where she stated she was the person who injected the actor with a fatal drug overdose. In 1984, Smith co-wrote a book entitled Chasing the Dragon which told her life story. The title is an allusion to Smith's heroin addiction. Smith appeared prominently in the Bob Woodward
Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist and non-fiction author. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter, and is currently an associate editor of the Post....
book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi
Wired (book)
Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi, is a 1984 non-fiction book by American journalist Bob Woodward about the American actor and comedian John Belushi....
, and was played by Patti D'Arbanville
Patti D'Arbanville
Patricia "Patti" D'Arbanville is an American actress and former model.-Early life:D'Arbanville, born May 25, 1951 in New York City, New York, is the daughter of Jean , an artist, and George D'Arbanville, a bartender, and attended PS 41 on Eleventh Street...
in the film version
Wired (film)
Wired is a 1989 film biography of John Belushi directed by Larry Peerce, adapted from the book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi . It starred Michael Chiklis as Belushi. Wired was both a critical and a commercial failure...
. She has been called a backup singer but has also been described as merely a groupie.
Levon Helm and The Band
Smith became notorious in the Belushi case, but her association with well-known performers goes back at least 20 years prior to her confession in the National Enquirer. Her earliest association was with Levon HelmLevon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
, later a member of The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
in 1963. In Helm's autobiography, he recalls that Smith first met him in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. Helm, with friend and bandmate Rick Danko
Rick Danko
Richard Clare "Rick" Danko was a Canadian musician and singer, best known as a member of The Band.-Early years :...
, was in a band called The Hawks at the time (see Ronnie Hawkins
Ronnie Hawkins
Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
). At one point, the musicians were in Toronto facing a drug bust.
Smith has been connected to The Band's famous song, "The Weight
The Weight
"The Weight" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was released by The Band as Capitol Records single 2269 in 1968, and appeared one week later on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink. The song is listed as #41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004, and...
", released in 1968. Smith says in Rock and Roll Toronto: From Alanis to Zeppelin, that Richard Manuel
Richard Manuel
Richard George Manuel was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his contributions to and membership in The Band....
offered to marry her but she refused. Nevertheless, she continued to tour and party with Helm, Rick Danko
Rick Danko
Richard Clare "Rick" Danko was a Canadian musician and singer, best known as a member of The Band.-Early years :...
and Manuel through the 1960s. She later had an affair with Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
. After the affair ended, Smith returned to Levon Helm and the circle who now comprised The Band.
Gordon Lightfoot
Smith became an employee and then mistressMistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
in the early to mid-1970s. At one point, she even drove their tour bus. Smith sang backup on Lightfoot's song "High and Dry" which was on the Sundown album. She apparently sang more backup on the album but Lightfoot mixed most of it out.
By several accounts, the Smith-Lightfoot affair was volatile and illustrated in the lyrics of "Sundown", Lightfoot's Number One hit and most financially lucrative song. It reflects the dark feelings Lightfoot was experiencing at the time. Drinking too much and married to another woman, he on one occasion broke Smith's cheekbone in a fight. Lightfoot has stated of his three-year relationship with Smith, "I was sometimes crazy with jealousy".
Bluegrass musicians Bruce and Brian Good, The Good Brothers
The Good Brothers
The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good , his twin brother Bruce Good and younger brother Larry Good ....
, who were one of Lightfoot's opening acts during that time, got fired by Lightfoot for "flirting" with Smith. Smith was cited in divorce papers, and shortly after his affair with Smith ended, Lightfoot was a party to the most expensive divorce settlement in Canadian history to that date.
In a 1975 interview, Lightfoot expanded upon Sundown and hinted at the worry he experienced in his relationship with Smith:
"All it is, is a thought about a situation where someone is wondering what his loved one is doing at the moment. He doesn't quite know where she is. He's not ready to give up on her, either, and that's about all I got to say about that."
Lightfoot gave another insight into his relationship with Smith in a 2000 interview when he remarked upon "Sundown" being:
"a back-alley kind of tune. It's based on infidelity -- I've seen both sides of that."
In 2008, Lightfoot gave an interview confirming that "Sundown" was written with his then-girlfriend in mind:
"I think my girlfriend was out with her friends one night at a bar while I was at home writing songs. I thought, 'I wonder what she’s doing with her friends at that bar!' It’s that kind of a feeling. 'Where is my true love tonight? What is my true love doing?'
Belushi case
After Lightfoot and The Band, around 1976 Smith became a backup singer for Hoyt AxtonHoyt Axton
Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
, who was struggling with cocaine addiction at the time. She sang on his song "Fearless" (1976) and co-wrote "Flash of Fire" with Axton (1976).
Smith became involved with heroin use in the late 1970s. In Bob Woodward's Wired, she appears as a drug dealer to Rolling Stones band members Ron Wood
Ron Wood
Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, and current member of The Rolling Stones. He also plays lap and pedal steel guitar....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
during their touring and rehearsals as The New Barbarians
The New Barbarians (band)
The New Barbarians were a rock band that played two concerts in Canada and eighteen shows across the United States in April and May 1979; in August 1979, the band also supported Led Zeppelin at the Knebworth Festival 1979....
. She moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and as her addiction increased she became a full-time drug dealer and courier to Wood, Richards and others in the entertainment world. Smith first met comedian John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
on the set of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1976 when The Band were the musical guests.
She later met Belushi again through Wood and Richards and was contacted by Belushi to purchase the drugs that eventually killed him. Smith alleges that she injected Belushi with 11 speedballs
Speedball (drug)
Speedball is a term commonly referring to the hazardous intravenous use of heroin or morphine and cocaine together in the same syringe. The speedball can also be taken by insufflation. The original speedball used cocaine hydrochloride mixed with morphine sulfate, as opposed to heroin...
(a combination of cocaine and heroin) at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
in 1982, and that this injection led to his death. According to Woodward, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
was on the scene at the time, and was "creeped out" by Smith, whom he thought to be a "lowlife". Belushi had been battling cocaine addiction for years. He was not a heroin addict, though he had used the drug infrequently before his death.
Released after initial questioning on the morning of Belushi's death, Smith spoke briefly to freelance writer Chris Van Ness. Then, two National Enquirer reporters, Tony Brenna and Larry Haley, spoke with her and published their lengthy in-person interviews with her under the headline: "I killed John Belushi. I didn't mean to, but I am responsible." This led to the charge against Smith in Belushi's murder and 13 counts of administering cocaine and heroin. The National Enquirer reporters refused to testify at the subsequent trial and were threatened with incarceration by Judge Brian Crahan; however, he later vacated the contempt order.
Smith eventually returned to the United States, in June 1986 where she accepted a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
by "plead[ing] guilty to involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and several drug charges". She served 15 months in prison at California Institution for Women
California Institution for Women
California Institution for Women is a female-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California.-Facilities:...
between December 1986 and March 1988. She was deported to Canada after release and moved to Toronto "where she worked as a legal secretary and spoke to teenagers about the dangers of drugs".
Smith was arrested in July 1991 "with two grams of heroin in her purse" in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, for which she received a fine of CDN$2000 and "12 months' probation". She appeared in the E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
television network show True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...
episode on Belushi's death which first aired in 1998.
Further reading
- Cathy Smith: Chasing the Dragon (Key Porter Books, January 1984) ISBN 0919493505