Cartoonist John Callahan in the documentary : Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel (2007)
The first news of a film about Callahan's life dates back to the late 1990s. During his lifetime, the cartoonist confirmed that Robin Williams, in addition to having declared himself a fan of, had the rights to take his story to the cinema. The actor even went so far as to star in and produce the film.
This was Callahan's answer to the question.
I've heard Robin Williams has the film rights to Callahan's autobiography, is that true?
Yes it is, and here is an excerpt from Callahan's autobiography Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot: The Autobiography of a Dangerous Man
Cover of the book by the cartoonist Callahan on which the film is based.
Callahan also said that, if the film was ever shot, he wanted Philip Seymour Hoffman to be the protagonist. (Source)
The death of John Callahan in 2010 and Robin Williams in 2014 left the project forgotten.
Whenever I hear about cartoonist films I think in slow and boring productions that will interest only a few people.
The cartoonist wake up, prepares a coffee and... sits down to draw. Fast-paced action. Or what is worse, dramatizations and film licenses with generous concessions to fiction.
I hope that Callahan's case is not like that, because of the character's peculiarity. It can also be used to polish and refine a little the different versions of the details of his biography that have been fattened and adorned according to who was telling it.
John Callahan, a life between drama and humour
The American artist and musician was born on 5 February 1951 and was abandoned. He never knew the identity of his biological parents.
He was adopted into a Portland orphanage by David Callahan (Dave), a Cargill worker, and his wife, Rosemary, an Oregon couple who believed they could not have children, although they later had five more children.
John grew up in The Dalles, Oregon, about 50 miles east of Portland and went to a Catholic school. In the fourth grade at St. Mary's Academy he began drawing cartoons of the nuns and other pictures.
"I started drawing cartoons of rodents to entertain my friends in class"
Saint Mary's Academy (The Dalles) building in 1954 - Photo: Ross, Marion Dean
Although some texts say that he started drinking at the age of 12, other sources say that when he was 8, he was sexually abused by a teacher and to cope with the trauma, John started drinking at 14.
"I used alcohol to hide the pain of abuse," he said. "I felt like a stranger in my family," John recalls.
"It was a circumstantial thing. The relationship with that nun really messed things up.
Upon graduating from St. Mary's Academy in 1965, John went to public school. "Catholic school was much stricter than public school. Public school was boring by comparison". As a result, John often skipped classes to drink with friends.
He graduated from high school and began working as an assistant in a state mental hospital, also worked in an aluminum plant. At the age of 20, John moved to Los Angeles.
Alcohol
The dependence on alcohol was increasing, his philosophy was to drink and live the day. "One day, I could drink twelve beers, wine and whisky. He also experimented with other drugs, including marijuana and LSD.
"LSD scared me, it made me paranoid," said John. However, alcohol was his drug of choice and would play a significant role in events that would change his life forever.
He himself described his youth as a succession of days between work and drunkenness with no other purpose. One of his friends, Kevin Mullane, said in an interview that drinking came closer to killing him than the accident.
"Ironically, the accident may have saved his life," Mullane said.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Source. Lori A. Wood
In 1987, Callahan began writing his autobiography, Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot: The Autobiography of a Dangerous Man. "I thought it was a good story to share with people," said John.
In 1989, William Morrow published the book.
Some of his cartoons
