Betelgeuse (pronounced "Beetlejuice") was portrayed by Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice (1988) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). He was also portrayed by Stephen Ouimette in the television series, Beetlejuice (1989– 1991) and by Alex Brightman and Justin Collette in the musical, Beetlejuice (2018).
Biography[]
At some point in time, Betelgeuse was Juno's assistant. After the deaths of Adam and Barbara Maitland, the Deetz family moved into their home. The Maitlands eventually decided to contact Betelgeuse, now a freelance "bio-exorcist" ghost, to scare away the Deetzes family. However, Betelgeuse quickly offended the Maitlands with his crude and morbid demeanor; and they reconsidered hiring him, though too late to stop him from wreaking havoc on the Deetzes. The small town's charm and the supernatural events inspired Charles Deetz to pitch his boss Maxie Dean on transforming the town into a tourist hot spot, but Maxie wanted proof of the ghosts. Using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, Otho Fenlock conducted what he thought was a séance and summoned Adam and Barbara, but they began to decay, as Otho had unwittingly performed an exorcism instead.
Horrified, Lydia Deetz begrudgingly summoned Betelgeuse for help, but he agreed to help her only on the condition that she married him, enabling him to freely cause chaos in the mortal world. Betelgeuse saved the Maitlands and disposed of Maxie, his wife and scared Otho away, then prepared a wedding before a ghastly minister. The Maitlands intervened before the ceremony was completed, with Barbara riding a sandworm through the house to devour Betelgeuse.
Finally, the Deetzes and Maitlands agreed to live in harmony within the house. One day, Adam, Barbara, and Lydia were in a remodeled part of the house, dancing to Harry Belafonte's "Jump in the Line" (with Lydia floating in the air) to celebrate Lydia getting an "A" on her math test. Meanwhile, Betelgeuse was stuck in the afterlife waiting room; there, he attempted to switch his call number with that of a witch doctor, who shrunk his head in retaliation. Being Betelgeuse, however, he remained upbeat: "This could be a good look for me".
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