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. While his film roles were mostly comedic, such as those in
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Uncle Buck, he had dramatic roles in movies such as Only the
Lonely, Cool Runnings and JFK.
Biography
Early life and career
Candy, the younger of two sons, was born in Newmarket, Ontario, to Sidney James
Candy and Evangeline Aker.[1] He was raised in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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 the 1973 film Class of '44, in which he made a
small uncredited appearance. He then appeared in several other low-budget films in the 1970s. 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 favourite.
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 began a more active film career having 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 Oxberger 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 1983, Candy was approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (completed and released 1984), but ultimately did not get the role due to his conflicting
ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to Rick Moranis. (However, Candy
was one of the many celebrities who appeared chanting "Ghostbusters" in Ray Parker, Jr.'s
hit single for the movie). In 1984, Candy played Tom
Hanks's womanizing 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 awarded the opportunity to headline or co-star in such successful comedy films as
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (often considered his best
performance), Brewster's Millions, The Great Outdoors, Who's Harry Crumb?,
Armed and Dangerous and Uncle
Buck.
He also continued to provide memorable bit roles, including 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 although he did
appear in major successes such as Rookie of the Year and
Cool Runnings. Candy also appeared as a supporting actor as Gus: The Polka King of
the Mid-West in the Christmas comedy Home Alone.
Candy attempted to reinvigorate his acting career by broadening his range and playing more dramatic roles. 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 and in rare form, Candy played a dramatic role as
Dean Andrews, a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's 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. Candy worked on drafts for a character, "Redfeather", for Pocahontas. However, Redfeather was replaced by
Meeko & Flit.
Death
Candy died in his sleep on March 4, 1994 while on location in
Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!. He was 43 years old. 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[citation needed]. In spite of this assertion, however, there is public evidence to indicate
that Candy was highly self-conscious about his weight all his life. 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 is survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hobor), whom he married in 1979, and their two children, Jennifer and
Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Martin of Tours Church. 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 The Second City was broadcast live on CHCH TV
(Hamilton, Ontario) and transmitted via satellite to eight stations across
Canada.[2]
Legacy
Wagons East was completed using a body double in Candy's place.[3] 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 year after his
death. Candy played American sheriff Bud Boomer who led the "attack" against Canada.
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.
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.”
A tribute to Candy, to be hosted by Dan Aykroyd, is planned as part of the
2007 Grey Cup festivities in Toronto in November 2007. [1]
The 1994 Ween album Chocolate and Cheese
is dedicated to Candy.[citation needed]Inside Sleevenote of Album FNCD314 dedicated in loving memory to John Candy
(1950-1994)
Filmography
- Class of '44 (1973)
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975)
- Tunnel Vision (1976)
- The Clown Murders (1976)
- Find the Lady (1976)
- The Silent Partner (1978)
- Lost and Found (1979)
- 1941 (1979)
- Double Negative (1980)
- The Blues Brothers (1980)
- Stripes (1981)
- Heavy Metal (1981) (voice)
- It Came From Hollywood (1982) (documentary)
- National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
- Going Berserk (1983)
- Splash (1984)
- The Last Polka (1984)
- Brewster's Millions (1985)
- Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird (1985)
- Summer Rental (1985)
- Volunteers (1985)
- Tears Are Not Enough (1985) (documentary)
- Armed and Dangerous (1986)
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
- Spaceballs (1987)
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
- She's Having a Baby (1988) (Cameo)
- The Great Outdoors (1988)
- Hot to Trot (1988) (voice only)
- Who's Harry Crumb? (1989) (also executive producer)
- Speed Zone! (1989)
- Uncle Buck (1989)
- Masters of Menace (1990) (Cameo)
- Home Alone (1990)
- The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (voice)
- Nothing But Trouble (1991)
- Career Opportunities (1991)
- Only the Lonely (1991)
- Delirious (1991)
- JFK (1991)
- Once Upon A Crime (1992)
- Boris and Natasha: The Movie (1992)
- Rookie of the Year (1993)
- Cool Runnings (1993)
- Hostage For A Day (1994)
- Wagons East! (1994)
- Canadian Bacon (1995)
- The Magic 7 (archive footage) (2007)
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
