Jimmy Buffett can be seen playing his six-string on the new season of “Life & Beth.” Hulu’s slice-of-life comedy, based on star/creator Amy Schumer, introduces the king of the carefree chorus in the second of the season’s 10 episodes (now streaming).
Buffett died in September at the age of 76 after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer. For his “Life & Beth” cameo, filmed in New Orleans, the “Margaritaville” singer returned to his humble beginnings busking on the streets of The Big Easy, a city he loved.
Buffett told “CBS Sunday Morning” in a 2018 interview that he owes his career to New Orleans. Buffett said, “Those years of living here were really formative years for me.” “It made me a better professional player so I felt like I could make that leap. This was my training ground for all of them.”
Schumer says she listened to Buffett’s music growing up: “It made you feel like everything was going to be OK.” The comedian befriended Buffett, his wife Jane Slagsvoll and their daughter, Sarah “Delaney” Buffett about five years ago.
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“At one point when we were hanging out, I said, ‘You know, we’re shooting in New Orleans,'” Schumer recalls, sitting next to her onscreen boyfriend Michael Cera for the series. “I said, ‘Oh my God, imagine you were on the show.’ He said, ‘I’ll do it!’ I thought, ‘No, he’s just saying that.’ But he did not waver.”
Buffett picks up an acoustic guitar in khaki shorts singing “I’ll Play for Gumbo” from his 1999 album “Beach House on the Moon” and Beth puts some money in his guitar case for his performance. A title card at the end of the episode reads, “In loving memory of Jimmy Buffett, who started busking on the streets of New Orleans.”
Schumer says Buffett took the initiative for the role.
“He was flying around by himself,” says Serra. “Incredible lifestyle.”
Serra remembers the crowd that gathered across the street during the shooting. “I don’t think he even knew it was Jimmy Buffett,” says Schumer. “I think they were just enjoying it.”
“Buffett was absolutely infectious,” she says. “And I’m really happy – and his family is really happy – that we have this footage of him going back to his roots and singing at the end of his life. “
John and Beth travel to New Orleans to tie the knot in an intimate, casually planned ceremony. Beth tells her friend, “It’s a destination wedding in the middle of the week, last minute.” “Nobody’s even going to show up.” It’s the same quiet approach in which Schumer planned her 2018 nuptials to chef Chris Fischer.
“It was in Malibu for no reason. “I’m such a New York[person],” says Schumer. “I was there doing press and we planned it in three days. Our wedding took place on Tuesday in Malibu. All our friends and family are in New York and we thought, ‘Nobody’s going to come.’ And we had 75 people.”
When Cera asked if Schumer and her guests had booked a hotel to accommodate the occasion, Schumer says she had rented a house on the water for two nights that would likely have been the location of ABC’s “The Bachelor.” It was a filming location for.
“I don’t know,” she says. “It was really, really stupid. But we had a great time.”
While Schumer embraced a more natural look on her wedding day while hosting guests like Jennifer Lawrence and Chelsea Handler, Beth’s bridal beauty was inspired by Teresa Giudice. When the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star married businessman Luis Ruelas in 2022, she wore a crown and a high updo that required more than 1,500 bobby pins and cost $10,000. Schumer is a big fan of Bravo and adopted a more casual version of the look for “Life & Beth.” (His false eyelashes rival those of Snuffleupagus.)
“[Giudice]was the reference photo, definitely for the hair,” Schumer says, giving props to her hair stylist and makeup artist. “My son was really scared of me that day (laughs). But yes, it was definitely a Bravo gesture.
