The accident
On the night of 22 July 1972, after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol (some sources speak of beer and others of tequila), he gave the keys to his Volkswagen Beetle to his drinking companion.
The driver was so drunk that he crashed Callahan's car at more than 140 Km/h into a pole. The driver was not seriously injured in the accident and Callahan never heard from him again.
Callahan suffered severe spinal cord injuries (C5-6) and was paralyzed from the diaphragm down. He also lost the mobility of many muscles in his upper body. He was 21 years old.
In the hospital he met his girlfriend, a Swedish girl named Annu, although Gus Van Sant took the liberty of extending a love relationship over time, without too much commitment, in the film, this did not happen in reality.
This John Callahan partner is more film licence than reality. The truth is that Callahan, in his memoirs, points out that his relationship with Annu in real life was limited only to the hospital. He never saw her again after she left the ICU.
Although she could extend her fingers, she had little strength. After rehabilitation therapy she managed to recover and later hold a marker in her hand.
In order to draw, she slowly guided her right hand on the paper with her left hand, achieving simple, almost childlike images.
In this video you can see Callahan drawing (1:28). Images from the highly recommended documentary (not easy to find): Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel (2007)
Stop drinking
Callahan continued to drink for several years until 1978 when he came to Alcoholics Anonymous. On his website, he described the exact moment he decided to stop drinking:
"After years of alcoholism and self-pity, one night, after spending a long hour trying to open a bottle with his teeth, it slipped out of his hands and rolled on the floor, out of reach. He looked at it for a while. Then he started screaming, cursing God for being a cripple. He screamed until he was exhausted and then cried for an hour.
Finally, a disturbing but comforting sensation came over him, as if a hand was calming him. When his assistant returned, Callahan said, "Hey, Alex, something very deep happened to me here, I don't think I'm going to drink anymore".
What did John Callahan die of?
Callahan died on 24 July 2010 at the age of 59, from complications during a pressure ulcer operation, although one of his brothers stated that the causes of his death were derived from quadriplegia coupled with respiratory problems.
Artwork
13 books were published with their cartoons, one of them autobiographical and a CD with 19 songs entitled Purple Winos in the Rain (2006)
Cover of CD
Two animated series based on his drawings were broadcast:
Pelswick, a children's series on Nickelodeon.
And Quads, an Australia-Canada co-production, which does not deviate from the violence, joy of life and political incorrectness of its cartoons.
The cartoon that gave its name to his book and film is printed on the cartoonist's grave on Mt Calvary Cemetery in Nothwest, Porland, Oregon.
