Popular References
Calumet City is featured or mentioned in a number of major movies. John Belushi's "Joliet Jake" character from The Blues Brothers was born in Calumet City, and the orphanage that they save through donating the money from their concert is also located in Calumet City as well as "Ray's Music Exchange" that holds the famed Ray Charles "Shake Your Tailfeather" scene of the movie, which was a tribute to Calumet City's Hegewisch Records Store. In the book and film The Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill is thought to be hiding in Calumet City, when he is actually in Belvedere, Ohio (However, the Calumet City scenes in the film were filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Lily Tomlin's prim but assertive housewife/spokesperson "Mrs. Judith Beasley" is said to be a resident of Calumet City. ("Hi. I am not an actress, but a real person like yourself.")
Calumet City is also referenced by a number of popular music acts. The Black Crowes included a video of the Smiley Towers in their 1990 video for "Hard to Handle". A photograph of the "Dolton" smiley water tower is featured on the back of the Dead Kennedys album Plastic Surgery Disasters. Rapper Twista has referenced Calumet City. However, Kanye West's reference to Calumet in his 2005 song "Drive Slow", does not refer to Calumet City, but rather Calumet High School, which is located on the South side of Chicago and not in Calumet City.
The Smiley Tower is also featured in the movie Natural Born Killers; it is seen out the window of Mallorys' family home (part of that movie was filmed in Hammond, Indiana). In the Nine Inch Nails music video on the director's cut of the same film, the Smiley Tower and Dolton Avenue/State Street is featured.
In 2004, Alan Keyes purchased a raised ranch house in Calumet City to establish residency in Illinois so he could run for the U.S. Senate in place of Jack Ryan against Barack Obama, although instead of residing in the house, he officially moved into an apartment elsewhere in town, on Garfield Avenue.
In 2010, Pop music group Hanson remade the "Shake Your Tailfeather" scene of the movie "The Blues Brothers" for their music video for their hit "Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin'" In Tulsa, Oklahoma paying homage to Calumet City's Ray's Music Exchange, John Belushi, & Ray Charles.
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