John Candy

John Candy
Born	John Franklin Candy

John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. Candy rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Canada branch of The Second City, often playing lovable losers and characters with bad luck but big hearts. His film roles were mostly comedic, such as his memorable characters in Spaceballs, Stripes, The Blues Brothers, Brewster's Millions, Uncle Buck, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, and Planes, Trains & Automobiles but he also played serious characters in films like Only the Lonely and JFK.

Biography

Early life and career

Candy was born in Newmarket, Ontario and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the younger of two sons. His father, Sidney Candy, was of Scottish descent, and his mother Evangeline was of mixed Scottish and Lithuanian descent. His father died quite young from a heart attack. He attended the Neil McNeil Catholic High School, an all-boys, public, Catholic school in Toronto, where he played football.

Candy's first movie role was in Class of '44 in 1973, in which he made a small uncredited appearance. In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski's short-lived, late-night television talk show, Ninety Minutes Live. That same year, as a member of Toronto's branch of The Second City, he gained wide North American popularity, which grew when he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). NBC picked the show up in 1981 and it quickly became a fan favorite.

1980s

Among Candy's memorable characterizations for SCTV were unscrupulous street-beat TV personality Johnny LaRue, 3-D horror auteur Doctor Tongue, sycophantic and easily amused talk-show sidekick William B. Williams, and quiescent Melonville Mayor Tommy Shanks. Other characters included cheerful Leutonian clarinetist Yosh Shmenge, who was half of the Happy Wanderers and the subject of the mockumentary The Last Polka, folksy fishin' musician Gil Fisher, handsome if accent-challenged TV actor Steve Roman, hapless children's entertainer Mr. Messenger, corrupt soap opera doctor William Wainwright and smut merchant Harry, "the Guy With the Snake on His Face".

Mimicry was one of Candy's talents, which he used often at SCTV. Celebrities impersonated by Candy include Jerry Mathers, Divine (Glen Milstead), Orson Welles, Julia Child, Richard Burton, Darryl Sittler, Luciano Pavarotti, Jimmy the Greek, Tip O'Neill, Don Rickles, Curly Howard, Merlin Olsen, Jackie Gleason, Tom Selleck, Gordon Pinsent, Ed Asner, Doug McGrath and Hervé Villechaize.

By 1980, he had appeared as a soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941 and had a supporting role as a jovial parole officer in The Blues Brothers. A year later, Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxburger in 1981's Stripes, one of the most successful films of the year. In the next two years, Candy did a small cameo in Harold Ramis' National Lampoon's Vacation, appeared on Saturday Night Live twice (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV. In 1984, Candy played Tom Hanks's brother in the hit romantic comedy Splash, considered to be his breakout role.

Throughout the latter half of the 1980s, Candy worked often taking roles in substandard films (even performing the voice of a talking horse in the Bobcat Goldthwait comedy Hot to Trot) just to keep working. Although Candy continued to play supporting roles in films like Spaceballs, he was afforded the opportunity to headline or co-star in such successful comedy films as Planes, Trains & Automobiles (often considered his best performance), The Great Outdoors, Who's Harry Crumb?, and Uncle Buck. Candy also apperaed in the movie "Armed and Dangerous."

He also continued to provide memorable bit roles, including a genial polka bandleader in the Christmas comedy Home Alone, a "weird" disc jockey in the comic musical film Little Shop of Horrors, and a state trooper in the Sesame Street film Follow That Bird.

He also produced and starred in an Saturday morning animated series on NBC entitled Camp Candy in 1989. The show was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, featured his two children in supporting roles, and also spawned a brief comic book series published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.

1990s

In the early 1990s, Candy's career went into decline after he appeared in a string of critical and commercial failures, including Nothing But Trouble, Delirious and Once Upon A Crime. Candy attempted to reinvigorate his acting career by broadening his range. In 1991, Candy appeared in a light romantic comedy-drama, Only the Lonely which saw him as a Chicago cop torn between his overbearing mother (Maureen O'Hara) and his new girlfriend (Ally Sheedy). The same year, Candy also played Dean Andrews, a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's multi-starrer JFK.

In 1991, Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and Candy became co-owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. The celebrity ownership group attracted a lot of attention in Canada and the team spent a significant amount of money, even signing some highly-touted National Football League players.

Death

Candy died in his sleep on March 4, 1994, at the age of 43, while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!. An autopsy revealed that he had suffered a massive heart attack resulting from the complete blockage of one of his coronary arteries.

At the time of his death, Candy had been making a concerted effort to improve his health; he had recently quit smoking and was losing weight. As his family had a history of heart disease, he had been warned by doctors several times before to reduce his weight but had previously refused, claiming that his portly appearance helped him secure film roles. In spite of this assertion, however, there is public evidence to indicate that Candy was highly self-conscious about his weight. A few years before his death, he canceled a scheduled appearance hosting a CBC awards show because the ceremony's advertising campaign jokingly touted him as "the biggest star in Canada". (Leslie Nielsen hosted the show instead.)

Candy was survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hoban), whom he married in 1979, and their two children, Jennifer and Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto and was broadcast live across Canada. Candy is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for John Candy produced by his former improv troupe Second City was broadcast live on CHCH TV (Hamilton, Ontario) and transmitted via satellite to eight stations across Canada.

Legacy

Wagons East was completed using a body double in Candy's place. Released in the summer of 1994, critics and audiences alike denounced the film as one of the worst Candy ever made.

Candy's final completed movie was Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore that was released the following year after his death. Candy played American sheriff Bud Boomer who led the "attack" against Canada. The film's release was delayed because Moore changed the ending of the film following Candy's death.

Candy recorded a voice for the TV film The Magic 7 in the early-1990s. The film remained in production for years due to animation difficulties and production delays, and eventually it was shelved. Plans were made to launch the film sometime in 2005 or 2006, but to date it has not been released. It is, however, scheduled to be released in 2007.

Candy was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2006, Candy became one of the first four entertainers ever honoured by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.

Blues Brothers 2000 is dedicated to three people, including Candy, who played a major role in the original Blues Brothers.

The John Candy Visual Arts Studio at Neil McNeil Catholic High School, in Toronto, Ontario was dedicated in his honour after his death. John Candy, one of the school's most famous alumni, said during one of his annual visits to the school, “My success is simply rooted in the values and discipline and respect for others that I was taught at Neil McNeil.”

The 1994 Ween album Chocolate and Cheese is dedicated to Candy.

Filmography

1. Class of '44 (1973)
2. It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975)
3. Tunnel Vision (1976)
4. The Clown Murders (1976)
5. Find the Lady (1976)
6. The Silent Partner (1978)
7. Lost and Found (1979)
8. 1941 (1979)
9. Double Negative (1980)
10. The Blues Brothers (1980)
11. Stripes (1981)
12. Heavy Metal (1981) (voice)
13. It Came From Hollywood (1982) (documentary)
14. National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
15. Going Berserk (1983)
16. Splash (1984)
17. The Last Polka (1984)
18. Brewster's Millions (1985)
19. Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird (1985)
20. Summer Rental (1985)
21. Volunteers (1985)
22. Tears Are Not Enough (1985) (documentary)
23. Armed and Dangerous (1986)
24. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
25. Spaceballs (1987)
26. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
27. She's Having a Baby (1988) (Cameo)
28. The Great Outdoors (1988)
29. Hot to Trot (1988) (voice only)
30. Who's Harry Crumb? (1989) (also executive producer)
31. Speed Zone! (1989)
32. Uncle Buck (1989)
33. Masters of Menace (1990) (Cameo)
34. Home Alone (1990)
35. The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (voice)
36. Nothing But Trouble (1991)
37. Career Opportunities (1991)
38. Only the Lonely (1991)
39. Delirious (1991)
40. JFK (1991)
41. Once Upon A Crime (1992)
42. Boris and Natasha: The Movie (1992)
43. Rookie of the Year (1993)
44. Cool Runnings (1993)
45. Hostage For A Day (1994)
46. Wagons East! (1994)
47. Canadian Bacon (1995)
48. The Magic 7 (archive footage) (2006)

External links

• John Candy at IMDb
• All Movie Guide entry for John Candy
• John Candy Fansite
• John Candy's Gravesite