John Candy

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  John Candy, the Canadian actor and comedian, once gave a young Harvard student a piece of advice that the student credited with starting his career. That student was Conan O'Brien. He met Candy while studying at Harvard University and said, "Mr. Candy, I'm thinking I might try comedy." Candy answered very seriously: "You don't try comedy. You do it or you don't do it." O'Brien said that exchange led him into comedy.

  The man who spoke those words had a conviction that deserves a closer look. Where did it come from? How did it carry him from Canadian sketch television into the middle of Hollywood comedy? And what did that journey cost him?

  63

• 2. Newmarket to Toronto

  ›

  John Franklin Candy was born in Newmarket, Ontario, on the 31st of October 1950. His parents were Evangeline Valeria, born Aker, and Sidney James Candy. His father's parents were English immigrants who had moved to Canada in 1913, while his mother had Polish and Ukrainian ancestry. The family was working-class and Catholic, and Candy grew up in Toronto, in a house at 217 Woodville Avenue.

  Candy's fifth birthday fell on the 31st of October 1955. It was also the day his father died, from complications of heart disease, at the age of 35.

  At Neil McNeil Catholic High School, Candy served as treasurer of the student council. He was a star offensive tackle on the football team, and he also joined the drama club. His real ambition was professional football, but a knee injury that ended his playing career in high school closed that door.

  Eaton's, Toronto's flagship department store, employed Candy as a sales associate during this period. After school he studied journalism at Centennial College and then moved on to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Acting entered his life only once he was in college.

  167969

• 3. Second City Television

  ›

  The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto opened its inaugural season in 1971, and Candy had a place in it. He played a Shriner in Creeps, a new Canadian play by David E. Freeman about cerebral palsy. In 1972 he joined the Toronto branch of The Second City, the improvisation troupe.

  Television work arrived quickly. In 1973 he made an uncredited appearance in Class of '44, which counts as his feature film debut. He guest-starred on the Canadian children's series Cucumber and held a regular role on Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins in 1974-75. In 1974 he also appeared on Police Surgeon. First he was a gang member named Ramone in "Target: Ms. Blue." Later that season he was an accused killer named Richie in "Web of Guilt." The CBC children's show Coming Up Rosie followed in 1975, with Candy as Wally Wypyzypywchuk and Dan Aykroyd in the cast.

  Peter Gzowski's short-lived late-night talk show 90 Minutes Live gave Candy a supporting role in 1976, alongside Rick Moranis. That year he also appeared in The Clown Murders and took the lead in the low-budget comedy Find the Lady. Both films co-starred the Canadian actor Lawrence Dane. In 1978 Candy played a bank employee in the Canadian thriller The Silent Partner, acting with Christopher Plummer and Elliott Gould.

  Second City Television, known as SCTV, made Candy popular across North America. The Toronto-based comedy-variety show was influential, and NBC picked it up in 1981. It quickly became a fan favourite and won Emmy Awards for its writing in 1981 and 1982. Candy played a gallery of characters. Johnny LaRue was a scruple-free street-beat television personality. Doctor Tongue was a 3-D horror auteur. William B. Williams was a sycophantic and easily amused talk-show sidekick. Tommy Shanks was the corrupt mayor of Melonville.

  In 1979, SCTV moved to Edmonton for a time, and Candy took a break from it. He stayed in Toronto and headlined his own short-lived sketch show, Big City Comedy. He returned to SCTV Network in 1981. His first few episodes back were still based in Edmonton, and the show moved back to Toronto in 1982. Candy left again in 1983, before the final season, to concentrate on his film career.

  1314196569

• 4. Hollywood Breakthrough

  ›

  In 1979, Candy took a minor role in Lost and Found and played a U.S. Army soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941. He returned to Canada in 1980 for The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog and the action thriller Double Negative. That year he was also Burton Mercer, the easygoing parole officer in The Blues Brothers. He hosted a short-lived NBC program called Roadshow, which The Washington Post described as "improvisational journalism."

  Stripes, released in 1981 and directed by the Canadian Ivan Reitman, gave Candy the part of Dewey Oxberger. Oxberger was a lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit, and the film ranked among the year's biggest successes. In 1981 Candy also voiced several characters in the animated film Heavy Metal. His best-known part was the title character of the "Den" segment, which audiences received well. Richard Corben, who created the character, singled out Candy's humorously lighthearted performance as excellent.

  Saturday Night Live brought Candy two appearances, including a turn as host in 1983 while he was still on SCTV. According to the writer-comedian Bob Odenkirk, Candy was reputedly the "most-burned potential host" of the show. The staff asked him to host many times, only to change plans at the last minute.

  Ghostbusters, in 1984, nearly included him. Candy was approached to play the accountant Louis Tully in the film, which starred Aykroyd and was directed by Reitman. He lost out because of conflicting ideas about how to play the character. The part went to his SCTV colleague Rick Moranis, whose ideas were better received. Candy still left a mark on the franchise. He is one of the many people chanting "Ghostbusters" in Ray Parker Jr.'s video for the hit single.

  Splash, also released in 1984, is generally considered his breakout role. Candy played the womanizing brother of Tom Hanks's character in the hit romantic comedy. Afterward he signed a three-picture development and producing deal with Walt Disney Pictures. Under it he would develop and executive produce theatrical films planned as starring vehicles for himself.

  The year 1985 was crowded. Candy went back to Canada to star in The Last Polka, which he wrote with his co-star Eugene Levy. He played Richard Pryor's best friend in Brewster's Millions and made a cameo in the Sesame Street film Follow That Bird. Summer Rental, directed by Carl Reiner, gave him his first lead role in a Hollywood film. He reunited with Tom Hanks in Volunteers, which did not do as well as Splash. Armed and Dangerous, with Levy and Meg Ryan in 1986, was a box office disappointment. Candy also had a cameo in Little Shop of Horrors that year, and in 1987 a supporting role in Mel Brooks's Spaceballs.

  1516182034

• 5. Working With John Hughes

  ›

  Candy's first collaboration with John Hughes came in 1983, in a cameo for National Lampoon's Vacation. Hughes wrote the script, and Harold Ramis directed. Four years later, Hughes wrote and directed Planes, Trains & Automobiles, in which Candy played Del Griffith opposite Steve Martin. The film earned positive reviews and grossed $49,530,280 at the US box office.

  In 1988, Candy took a cameo in Hughes's She's Having a Baby. He then starred as Chet Ripley in The Great Outdoors, another Hughes script, which co-starred Aykroyd. Uncle Buck followed in 1989, with Hughes as writer and director, and it was another hit for them both.

  Home Alone, the blockbuster of 1990, was written by Hughes, and Candy appeared in a cameo. Career Opportunities, the next Hughes script, reached theaters in 1991 as a box office flop. Candy again had only a cameo.

  Only the Lonely, also from 1991, was written and directed by Chris Columbus, with Hughes as co-producer. It starred Candy and Maureen O'Hara. Reviews were good, but the film was not a big hit.

  243469

• 6. Flops, Hits, and Unmade Films

  ›

  Who's Harry Crumb? arrived in 1989 as a comedy that Candy also produced. It flopped, though some consider it a cult classic. Speed Zone, also known as Cannonball Fever, was another box office flop that year. In between, Candy voiced Don the Horse in Hot to Trot in 1988. In 1990 he voiced Wilbur the Albatross in Disney's animated film The Rescuers Down Under.

  Bette Midler's film Stella, in 1990, offered Candy another possibility. According to Candy's biography, he was in talks to play her working-class husband. Then he learned that Midler wanted him to do a screen test. He was incredulous, asked who she thought she was, and declined. John Goodman took the role.

  Nothing But Trouble, in 1991, was Dan Aykroyd's notorious box office flop, and Candy had a supporting role. Delirious in 1991 and Once Upon a Crime... in 1992 were unsuccessful as well. In between, Candy took a small dramatic part in Oliver Stone's JFK as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer. He also had a cameo in the television film Boris and Natasha: The Movie in 1992.

  Cool Runnings, in 1993, gave Candy his first comedy hit in a number of years. The film told the story of the first Jamaican national bobsleigh team, which tried to win the gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Candy played its coach, Irv Blitzer. That year he also had a cameo in the successful Rookie of the Year. In 1994 he made his directorial debut with the comedy television film Hostage for a Day.

  John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces never reached the screen with Candy in it. He had been in talks to play Ignatius J. Reilly. He had also expressed interest in playing Atuk in an adaptation of Mordecai Richler's The Incomparable Atuk, and the silent film comedian Roscoe \"Fatty\" Arbuckle in a biopic. All three films remain shelved. They have been alleged to be cursed, because Candy, John Belushi, Sam Kinison and Chris Farley were each attached to all three, and all four died before they could make them.

  Alec Guinness starred in the 1950 film Last Holiday, and Candy was originally considered for his role in a remake, with Carl Reiner directing. Queen Latifah eventually played the part in a loose remake released in 2006. Candy was also slated to work with Hughes again on Bartholomew vs. Neff, a comedy opposite Sylvester Stallone. The two were to play feuding neighbors. In Disney's animated Pocahontas, the role of Redfeather the Turkey was written for Candy, but it was cut after his death. Stephen King reportedly wanted Candy to play Billy Halleck in the film adaptation of his novel Thinner.

  2830313539

• 7. Beyond the Screen

  ›

  Candy married Rosemary Hobor in 1979. They had two children, Jennifer and Christopher, and lived for many years in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Candy was Catholic. He was open about his experiences with severe anxiety and panic attacks.

  From 1988 to 1990, Candy hosted \"Radio Kandy,\" a hot adult contemporary music countdown syndicated by Premiere Networks.

  In 1989, he produced and starred in Camp Candy, a Saturday-morning animated series on NBC. The show was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, with his two children in supporting roles. It ran for 40 episodes. It also spawned a brief comic book series from Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics.

  In 1991, Candy, Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky became co-owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. The celebrity ownership group drew attention across Canada. The team spent a great deal of money, even signing highly touted National Football League prospects such as Raghib Ismail. The Argonauts won the 1991 Grey Cup, beating Calgary 36-21 in the final. McNall's name was the only owner's name originally etched onto the trophy. The names of Candy and Gretzky were finally added in 2007.

  2540414243

• 8. Death and Remembrance

  ›

  On the 4th of March 1994, Candy was in the Mexican city of Durango, filming Wagons East. He suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep. He was 43.

  Several risk factors pointed toward a heart attack. He was obese, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, and abused alcohol and cocaine. He also had a strong family history of heart disease, though his own children said he was unaware of his genetic risk. Candy struggled with his weight for years and at times weighed over 375 lb (170 kg). He once lost 100 lb (45 kg) over a single summer while preparing to film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He dieted often and exercised with personal trainers.

  St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Los Angeles held Candy's funeral, with a eulogy from Dan Aykroyd. He was entombed in the mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. On the 18th of March 1994, the Second City produced a memorial service that was broadcast across Canada. Catherine O'Hara gave the eulogy, and her sister Mary Margaret O'Hara sang her song \"Dark, Dear Heart.\"

  Wagons East was completed with a stunt double and special effects, and it was released five months after his death. Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore, followed a year after Candy died. In it, Candy played the American sheriff Bud Boomer, who led an \"invasion\" of Canada. Both films were dedicated to his memory. Candy had also recorded a voice for The Magic 7, a television film. It stayed in production for years because of animation difficulties and delays, and it was eventually shelved.

  Canada's Walk of Fame inducted Candy in 1998. In May 2006, he became one of the first four entertainers ever honoured by Canada Post with a postage stamp. On the 31st of October 2020, Toronto Mayor John Tory proclaimed \"John Candy Day\" to mark what would have been Candy's 70th birthday.

  Blues Brothers 2000 is dedicated to three people, including Candy, who had a supporting role in the original film. In November 2007, Dan Aykroyd hosted a tribute to Candy at the Grey Cup festivities in Toronto. The experimental rock band Ween dedicated its 1994 album Chocolate and Cheese \"in loving memory to John Candy (1950-1994).\" Gene Ween remarked at the time, \"There was so much going on about Kurt Cobain, and nobody mentioned John Candy at all. I have a special little spot in my heart for him.\"

  At Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto, the John Candy Visual Arts Studio was dedicated in his honour. Candy, one of the school's most famous alumni, said during one of his annual visits: \"My success is simply rooted in the values and discipline and respect for others that I was taught at Neil McNeil.\" It has also been suggested that the Canadian Screen Awards take the official nickname \"The Candys,\" both in his honour and because the name suggests Canada.

  John Candy: I Like Me, a documentary about his life and career directed by Colin Hanks, was the opening film of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It premiered on the 4th of September. Two days later, the same festival premiered You Had to Be There, which also used some archival footage of Candy.

  4853565961