John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian. He came to wide public awareness as a member of the Second City comedy troupe, and its TV series, SCTV. Known for bringing warmth and likability to characters who otherwise would have been incredibly obnoxious, he appeared in such comedies as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, Uncle Buck, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Candy was born in Newmarket, Ontario, the child of a working-class Roman Catholic family. His first big acting gig was the short-lived, late-night 1976 television talk show Ninety Minutes Live (where he was partnered with future co-star Rick Moranis). That same year he joined the cast of SCTV. In 1980, he moved from the small screen to the movies. His first film appearance was as a supporting player in Steven Spielberg's 1941, and from there he appeared as Joliet Jake's parole officer in The Blues Brothers in the same year. Candy also had a Saturday Morning Cartoon in the late 1980s called Camp Candy, where he voices himself as a camp counselor to a bunch of misfit kids. Camp Candy is the second cartoon created by an SCTV cast member (after Martin Short's The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley), though Candy's counselor character was not based on a recurring character he did on SCTV. Conversely, he played numerous roles, including the ultimate Mr. Fanservice, Den, in the adult animated film, Heavy Metal.
Unusually, many film critics believe that his best performance isn't any of his comedies, but rather is his cold-blooded, hostile performance as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's JFK.
Candy struggled with high blood pressure, diabetes, alcoholism, and a smoking addiction throughout his adult life. While filming his last movie (Wagons East!), he suffered a fatal heart attack while sleeping, and died at age 43. Although the majority of his scenes had already been filmed, Canadian Bacon was released more than a full year after his passing.
In 1998, Candy was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, and in 2006, Candy became one of the first four entertainers ever honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.
Partial Filmography
- 1976-1980 — SCTV as Johnny LaRue
- 1978 — The Silent Partner as Simonson
- 1979 — 1941 as Private First Class Foley
- 1980 — The Blues Brothers as Det. Burton Mercer
- 1981 — Stripes as Dewey "Ox" Oxberger
- 1983 — National Lampoon's Vacation Russ Lasky
- 1983 — Going Berserk as John Bourgignon
- 1984 — Splash as Freddie Bauer
- 1985 — Summer Rental as Jack Chester
- 1986 — Armed and Dangerous as Frank Dooley
- 1987 — Spaceballs as Barf
- 1987 — Planes, Trains and Automobiles as Del Griffith
- 1988 — The Great Outdoors as Chester "Chet" Ripley
- 1989-1992 — Camp Candy As Himself
- 1989 — Uncle Buck as Buck Russel
- 1989 — Who's Harry Crumb? as Harry Crumb
- 1990 — Home Alone as Gus Polinski
- 1990 — The Rescuers Down Under as Wilbur
- 1991 — Nothing but Trouble as Dennis and Eldona Valkenheiser
- 1991 — Only the Lonely as Danny Muldoon
- 1991 — Delirious as Jack Gable
- 1991 — JFK as Dean Andrews, Jr.
- 1993 — Cool Runnings as Irving Blitzer
- 1993 — Canadian Bacon as Bud B. Boomer (released in 1995)
- 1994 — Wagons East! as Harlow (his final role; filmed in 1994, one year after Canadian Bacon had wrapped up production in 1993)
Tropes Associated with John Candy
- Acrofatic: Proved to be agile in some of his movies, including pulling off some martial arts moves in Delirious as well as being able to ride a horse. He does a somersault in Who's Harry Crumb? and can toss his shoes with deadly precision.
- Big Fun/Gentle Giant: He was 6'2" and around 300 pounds and known as one of the nicest people in the film industry.
- Honor Before Reason: He turned down multiple offers to join the cast of Saturday Night Live out of loyalty to his SCTV castmates. He did appear on a few episodes of Lorne Michaels' short-lived other sketch show, The New Show, however.
- During the filming of Only the Lonely, Candy saw that his co-star Maureen O'Hara (a Hollywood legend who had come out of retirement to play his mother) was not given a trailer on location. He was furious that someone of her stature was disrespected this way, and gave her his comfortable trailer while he slept on an uncomfortable cot. The producers realized that they couldn't have their star without any accommodations on set, so they provided one for O'Hara as well.
- Nice to the Waiter: He was known for being exceptionally kind to crew members and extras, even throwing a party at his own expense for all the supporting cast
of Planes, Trains and Automobiles to thank them for their work. - Platonic Life-Partners: With Catherine O'Hara.
- In fact, she was the last person he spoke to before his death.
- Polka Dork: In The Smenges sketches and films and in Home Alone.
- Those Two Actors: Often worked with his friend Eugene Levy.
- Weight Woe: He was quite sensitive about his weight and tried multiple weight loss regimens throughout the '80s and '90s, sometimes losing up to 70 pounds, but the results never lasted.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: He loved doing parts in drag, such as in Armed and Dangerous and doing impressions of Divine.
