European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 7, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday. December 7. 1985 photo of actor comedian John Belushi taken about a month before he died of a drug overdose in los Angeles in 1982. By Ellis e. Conklin United press International c Athy eve1 in Smith came to 1 Osa nodes desperately scr King Larne As songwriter and Singer bul who , it  was a life a arced by drugs and Marl Edby failure As she prepares to stand trial on charges of Fizur Dermy comedian John Belushi with deadly injection of heroin mired with cocaine the 38 year old Canadian insist that her quest to crack los Angeles cracked her instead. I was chasing the  says Smith in n biographical account of the years she spent Whu ving in the fast Lane carrying a purse often packed with heroin or cocaine it was live years of living very fast and going straight downhill " her message in chasing the dragon released in Canada earlier this year by key Porter books but not sold in the United Stales seems to be l. A. Made me do it. Smith is believed to have been he fast person to have seen the Star of saturday night live alive before he died from a drug overdose in a $200-a-Day Bungalow at the chateau Marmont hotel on the Sunset strip March 5. 19s2. Although it is widely acknowledged that Belushi was a willing participant in the Binge that claimed his life at the age of 33. A judge has ordered Smith to stand irial for second degree murder. Surety or. Belushi issued the invitation to this dance los Angeles municipal court judge James f. Nelson said at the conclusion of lengthy preliminary hearing. But. He added. It was an inherently dangerous dance and the legislature had provided that the Price for the Piper in these instances is  under California Law. Someone who furnishes and administers a dangerous substance can be prosecuted Tor second degree murder. Smith who is to be arraigned dec. 10. Could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted on All 13 charges against her. Within a month of Belushi s death Smith was Back in Canada. I had Boen on the run the whole time in  Smith wrote in chasing the dragon. I had gone there to Chase the Good times that go along with Rock n Roll by the end of that period a lot of the Good period had Leff and drugs were All that were  while in Canada Smith told the National enquirer in an interview that she had control of the Needles used to inject Belushi before his death and that the heroin had been hers. As result she was indicted a the los Angeles county grand jury in March 1983. And earlier this year she returned to California voluntarily to stand trial on the advice of attorney Howard Weitzman who successfully defended John de Lorean. Smith looked bedraggled at the time of her Brief detention following Belushi s death. Now she seems to have undergone a metamorphosis a self described one time Junkie turned into an elegant fair lady. Gone is the Long hair and the Putty slightly vacant look. Today. Smith sports a Short Well sculptured hair do and modern soft coloured suits that make her fashionable bul no the Leas Bil ostentatious. In the Book Smith wrote that she has sworn off All Cathy Evelyn Smith s dangerous dance Cathy Evelyn Smith five Yean of living very  dangerous drugs and has contented herself the past couple of years digging weeds and  Smith looked Alert attentive and Clear eyed in court a the end of november. If there is anything about her appearance unchanged it is the slightly pained expression on her face a pain born perhaps of an unfulfilled desire to belong Smith was adopted when very Young and according to friends never Ell at ease with her adoptive parents. As she sought a change in her life in her late teens she was Given Sanctuary by Canadian Folk Singer Gordon Lightfoot one of the people to whom Chase the dragon is dedicated. Smith ranked the relationship with Lightfoot As the important involvement of my life but she claimed it unravelled after Lightfoot grew resentful of her own musical prowess. He disliked me competing with him on his own albums Smith wrote referring to some backup vocals she supplied Tor a Light toot album. And when other performers expressed interest in Smith s Talent Gordon hit the  nonetheless. Lightfoot dedicated the hit song Sundown to Smith after their Romance ended. Once she emerged As a key figure in Belushi s scandalous demise he offered to raise Money Lor her Legal defense. Smith Lell Toronto in 1977, her aspirations to lame As a musician still mired in the realm of childhood fantasy. Following Brief stints with Rock groups such As the rolling stones and the band she came to los Angeles where she took a relatively unglamorous Job with attorney de Masry. Whose clients included musicians. She was quite  Masry said in an interview she did Light housework and drove my children around. I would t tolerate any drugs of any kind and she would t have done them. She had a Nice Circle of friends " Smith Speaks Well of Masry. Writing in Chase the dragon that to gave me a Way of putting Down roots. I Pla pm hostess for him and looked after the Steppe Wolf  at the Tinie. She wrote i did t see myself falling apart though she admits later in the Book that she was a heroin addict three of her five years in los Angeles. But soon As Smith describes it the frantic Pace of the entertainment world and the pressures it put on its inhabitants shattered the idyllic atmosphere that Masry provided. I of Angeles despite the constant parties and relentless Sunshine quickly began to reveal Itsell As a City Tough to crack she wrote. On the one hand i Felt that i had finally landed in the absolute Center of All that i cared about. But this also meant that the Competition was fantastically intense. At times. I found it impossible to Deal with the hardcore Hollywood types All so Friendly with perfect smiles alligators on their shirts answering services and anecdotes about the Tennis courts. Some of them also had very Sharp knives that Only came out when your Back was  at Arney Brian Greenspan who first represented Smith following Belushi s death supports the suggestion that los Angeles made Smith a different person. She is a person held in very High regard Here in Toronto Greenspan said in a Telephone interview. The Only negative part of her life was the los angles period. Here it was very positive. She was t drug dependent until she went to . A a. That was the dark Side of her.  " filling a Large expanse of that dark Side was a rotund manic comedian named John Belushi. Smith begins chasing the dragon with recollection of the afternoon of the Day he died i wac feeling Good considering it was still Early a Quarter to two in the afternoon and at the Tail end of a five Day drug Binge. I was feeling All right. The Sun was shining. For once. . Was looking Bright and clean and i was driving John Belushi s red Mercedes. I was wearing his jogging shorts too. At a Quarter to 10 that morning i Hod left him sound asleep at the chateau Marmont hotel snoring through his Kin size  Smith recalled leaving the hotel and going for a still drink and placing n bet on a horse race which she dido ten returning several hours later to Belushi s Bungalow Smith look a one Way Street the wrong Way and was pulled Over by police. When asked by officers Why she was driving the wrong Way Smith replied  is the Way John  John who Smith remembered the officer asking John Belushi she responded. Would you please get out of the  seconds later she was in Handcuffs and watched in amazement As police cars and television cameramen converged on the chateau Marmont. I could t believe what i was hearing. It had to be a 0ke. She wrote. A huge tasteless. Belushi size joke but it was True. John was dead "