Samurai Widow

{{Short description|Memoir by Judith Jacklin Belushi}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Samurai Widow

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = SamuraiWidow.jpg

| caption = Cover photo

| author = Judith Jacklin Belushi

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| subject = John Belushi; Judith Jacklin Belushi

| genre = Memoir;Autobiography

| publisher = Carroll & Graf

| release_date = 1990

| english_release_date =

| media_type = Print (Hardback)

| pages = 427 (Hardback)

| isbn = 0-88184-575-2

| dewey= 792.7/028/092 B 20

| congress= PN2287.B423 B44 1990

| oclc= 21229051

| preceded_by =

| followed_by =

}}

Samurai Widow (1990, Carroll & Graf) is a memoir by Judith Jacklin Belushi, the wife of comedian John Belushi. Belushi wrote Samurai Widow in response to the negative portrayal of John in the 1984 Bob Woodward book, Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi and its subsequent film adaptation in 1989.{{Cite book|title=Samurai Widow|first=Judith Jacklin|last=Belushi|date=January 7, 1993|id={{ASIN|0881845752|country=uk}} }}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/scene/news/john-belushi-joan-pisano-saturday-night-live-showtime-1234836245/|title=John Belushi's Wife Says Late Comedy Legend Was a 'Woman's Libber'|first1=Nicholas|last1=White|date=November 20, 2020}}

The book is a loose telling of Judith's life with John, her grief after his death, and her struggle to move on with life. The contents are based around the extensive journals kept by the author after her husband's death,{{Cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/110620-his-materials-and-his-letters-were-just-sitting-in-boxes-in-the-basement-of-her-house-r-j-cutler-on-belushi-at-doc-nyc/|title="His Materials and His Letters Were Just Sitting in Boxes in the Basement of Her House": R.J. Cutler on Belushi at DOC NYC | Filmmaker Magazine|first=Lauren|last=Wissot|date=November 13, 2020}} and a majority of the journal entries appear in the book as they were originally written. The book's title comes from one of Belushi's most famous Saturday Night Live (SNL) characters, a samurai who would have a different job each appearance (e.g. baker, lawyer, hotel manager).{{Cite web|url=http://pointblankbook.com/archive-my-interview-with-samurai-widow-judy-belushi/|title=2006 interview with Judy Belushi, widow of John Belushi.|last=Epstein|first=Dwayne|date=October 6, 2015}} The character was known as Samurai Futaba.{{cite news|last=Barra|first=Allen|title=That Nameless Stranger, Half a Century Later|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703309704575413672923186974|access-date=8 July 2021|newspaper=Wall Street Journal, (paywall)|date=17 August 2010}}