CHILMARK, Mass. -- John Belushi's unmarked grave was moved without fanfare to a remote corner of a small hillside cemetery to protect other graves from the ravages of tourists and fans, a published report says.
A copyright story in the Vineyard Gazette said the grave was moved May 27 due to concern from the Belushi family and officials of the town on Martha's Vineyard about rising public interest in visiting the grave.
The decision to shift the gravesite of the famed actor to an isolated area passed without public notice or official comment, the weekly newspaper reported in it's June 10 edition.
Final arrangements to move the grave came after deliberations among town officials and direct talks with the family -- principally Mr. Belushi's wife Judith Jacklin and her brother Rob, the newspaper said.
Mrs. Belushi supports the move and all the sentiments behind it - specifically that the new grave in different location will allow the immediate family and the town to provide better care for the site, the newspaper said.
Belushi was buried in the Chilmark Cemetary March 9, 1982.
Family and town officials also believe the change will give Belushi's followers easier access to a site clearly identified both by location and by new gravestones and inscriptions planned for the site next month, the Gazette said.
The newspaper quoted 'knowledgeable sources' as divulging news of the move.
In late March or early April, Mrs. Belushi's brother was in touch to discuss the possibility of shifting the grave.
There was a meeting to study sites better suited to protect other graves in the cemetary from streams of outside vistors, while at the same time accommodating those paying trubute to Belushi, the newspaper reported.
In mid-May, about two weeks before the move, Mrs. Belushi arrived in Chilmark to go over boundaries for the new gravesite, the Gazette said.
One of many problems with the old location sources told the newspaper, was that constant public traffic to the Belushi grave uprooted all the grass in the area.
There were reports beer bottles and trash being scattered near the other graves, and of mopeds and motorNE:les driving across the other sites.
Signs put up shortly after the burial to point the way to the unmarked site were stolen, police said.
Belushi, 33, -- who skyrocketed to fame on the 'Saturday Night Live' television show -- was found dead in a rented Los Angeles bungalow March 5, 1982.
