Wauconda forever linked to ‘Blues Brothers’

WAUCONDA – It’s been 30 years since Jake and Elwood Blues set out on their now epic “mission from God.”

It’s well known how the divine mission of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd impacted the city of Chicago, which is featured prominently in the film.

But the legendary “Blues Brothers” – released 30 years ago this summer – also earned a place in the history books of Wauconda.

The town never is mentioned by Jake or Elwood in the movie, but local residents still remember when film crews rolled into town to shoot footage for the movie.

“I just remember the town was alive,” said Wauconda village administrator Dan Quick, who was 24 at the time “The Blues Brothers” was filmed. “It had a lot of activity with film crews.”

Two noteworthy scenes from the movie were filmed in Wauconda. The first includes shots of Belushi and Aykroyd driving their famed “Bluesmobile” on a beach at Bangs Lake. During the scene, the duo is attempting to promote their upcoming concert at the Palace Hotel Ballroom. When bikini-clad beach-goers surround the car, Aykroyd announces the concert will be taking place on “ladies night.”

The shot of the beach that was eventually used in the movie actually took place on two private beaches, Quick said. A fence between the two beaches was taken down for the movie to make the two beaches look like one, he said.

The other scene filmed in Wauconda shows Jake and Elwood racing back to Chicago near the intersection of Routes 12 and 176. They are followed closely by a fleet of police cars – including one with John Candy that ends up in the back of semi after driving down, and then back up an embankment.

Crews with the movie spent a couple days filming each scene, and were on their way within a week, remembers Wauconda fire chief Dave Dato, who was just completing college at the time.

Residents gathered near the film crews each day, Dato said, looking for a chance to catch a glimpse of Belushi and Aykroyd.

“Local kids got to be in the movie,” Dato said. “A lot of people tried to watch what was going on.”

One brief shot also filmed in Wauconda was a scene with Cab Calloway handing out flyers to children promoting the upcoming Blues Brothers concert, Quick said.

“That was [filmed] right on Main Street right across from the village hall,” Quick said.

Fans of the movie also may be intrigued to know the patches worn by police officers patrolling the Blues Brothers’ concert on Lake Wazzapamani were based on actual patches worn by Wauconda police officers, Dato said.

One local resident who actually made it into the final cut of the movie is Bud Skuba. The Mundelein resident did not appear in scenes filmed in Wauconda, but instead appears briefly in two final scenes as the Blues Brothers race to the Cook County Assessor’s office  in Chicago.

Skuba applied to be an extra in the movie at the suggestion of a friend. During filming, the two had to be downtown by 6 a.m. for eight hours a day for two straight days. Much of their time on the set was spent waiting as crews filmed each scene over and over, Skuba said. There also was no guarantee he would even appear in the movie.

“I was the last one chosen,” he said. “I got placed right in front in the camera.”

Seeing the movie on opening night in Chicago also was memorable for Skuba – who showed up for the debut wearing his own Blues Brothers black suit.

“It was the best movie experience I have ever had,” Skuba said. “We were just thrilled.”

Appearing in the movie has not had any long-term benefits for Wauconda, Dato said. But it still comes up in conversation, and is something residents can tell their friends, he said.

“I don’t think people really knew it was going to be so long-lasting,” Dato said. “It just became part of Wauconda history.”