John Candy - Wikipedia

Died way to young!

Died too soon. Great comedic talent.

Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that October 31 is the anniversary of the birth of Canadian comedian and actor John Franklin Candy who "rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in such comedy films as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, Summer Rental, Home Alone, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs"
I certainly enjoyed his roles in Stripes and Spaceballs as Barf short for Barfolamu.

Rest in peace John Franklin Candy

Background from
"John Candy Biography
Overview | Mini Bio | Spouse | Trade Mark (7) | Trivia (50) | Personal Quotes (9) |Salary (4)

Overview
Born October 31, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died March 4, 1994 in Durango, Mexico (heart attack)
Birth Name John Franklin Candy
Height 6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Bio
Candy was one of Canada's greatest and funniest character actors. His well-known role as the big hearted buffoon earned him classics in Uncle Buck (1989) and Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). His career has handed him some dry spells but Candy always rebounded.

Born in Newmarket, Ontario, in the year 1950, Candy was the son of Evangeline (Aker) and Sidney James Candy. His mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. Candy found his passion for drama while attending a community college. In 1971 Candy made his TV debut in an episode of Police Surgeon (1971) co-starring Sharon Farrell, John Hamelin, and Nick Mancuso. Candy then found a number of bit parts in other Canadian television shows and also in such small films as Tunnel Vision (1976) and Find the Lady (1976). However, his big success came at the age of twenty-seven, when he became part of the comedy group "Second City" in Toronto. Alongside such soon-to-be Canadian stars as Catherine O'Hara (one of Candy's lifelong friends), Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, and Harold Ramis, Candy was also part of the television show the group inspired. SCTV (1976) earned Candy a reputation for his quirky humor and his uncanny imitations of others.

After the television series, Candy appeared alongside fellow Canadian Dan Aykroyd in the Steven Spielberg flop 1941 (1979). However, other jobs followed and Candy landed a role, once again with Aykroyd, in the successful classic The Blues Brothers (1980). Candy played a parole officer who is part of the chase after Jake and Elwood Blues. The film was a hit and Candy followed up accordingly.

Candy acted in the smash hit Stripes (1981) where he played a dopey, overweight recruit affectionately nicknamed 'Ox'. After the success of Stripes (1981), Candy returned to the Second City with the other former stars, in SCTV Network (1981). Candy also hosted "Saturday Night Live" before landing himself a role in the Ron Howard film Splash (1984), a romantic comedy about a mermaid who washes ashore and learns to live like a human. Candy played a sleazy womanizing brother to the character played by Tom Hanks. The film was a bigger success than even Stripes (1981) and a number of people have said that Splash (1984) was his breakout role.

He took a second billing in the comedic film Brewster's Millions (1985) where a man must spend thirty million in order to inherit three hundred million from his deceased relative. Candy played the man's best friend, who accidentally gets in the way as much as helping out. Candy continued making films tirelessly, including the film Armed and Dangerous(1986) where he and Eugene Levy play characters who become security guards.

1987 was an especially good year to Candy, giving him two classic roles: Barf the Mawg in the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs (1987) and the bumbling salesman Del Griffith alongside Steve Martin's uptight character in the John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). The latter film is a golden classic and is one of Candy's greatest films. He followed up immediately with The Great Outdoors (1988), once again alongside Dan Aykroyd. Candy landed another classic role in the film Uncle Buck (1989) which was about a bumbling uncle who must look after his brother's three children.

Although he was in the smash hit Home Alone (1990), Candy's career fell into a slump, turning out unsuccessful films in the early nineties. This caused him to change his strategy by taking more serious roles. The first of these serious roles was the corrupt lawyer Dean Andrews in the 'Oliver Stone' film JFK (1991). The film was a big success, and Candy moved on from this victory to make the film Cool Runnings (1993) about the first Jamaican bobsled team.

Candy was well known for his size, six feet two and weighing around 300 pounds. However, he was very sensitive about the subject and in the nineties tried to lose weight and quit smoking. He was aware that heart attacks were in his family: both his father and his grandfather died of heart attacks and Candy wanted to prevent that happening to him as best he could.

In the mid-nineties Candy filmed the Michael Moore comedy Canadian Bacon (1995) then went to Mexico to film the western spoof Wagons East (1994). It was in Mexico that Candy had a heart attack and passed away in March 1994. Canadian Bacon (1995) was released a year after his death and is his last film.

Candy was loved by thousands of people who loved his classic antics in Splash (1984) and The Great Outdoors (1988). He was well-known for his roles in Stripes (1981) and Uncle Buck (1989) and he himself never forgot his Canadian background.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob Stage
Spouse Rosemary Margaret Hobor 1. (28 April 1979 - 4 March 1994) ( his death) ( 2 children Jennifer Candy and Chris Candy.)

Trade Mark (7)
1. Often appeared in films written and/or directed by John Hughes
2. Often worked in a dance in his movies (Spaceballs, The Great Outdoors, even The Rescuers Down Under)
3. Often played good-hearted slobs
4. His large girth
5. His role as Uncle Buck
6. Brown eyes
7. Canadian accent

Trivia (50)
2. The musical group Ween dedicated their 1994 LP, "Chocolate And Cheese", to him.
3. Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA in the Mausoleum, Room 7, Block 1.
4. He was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
5. He died while filming Wagons East (1994) in Mexico.
6. He was part of the group Northern Lights, which sang the song "Tears Are Not Enough" which was on the "We Are The World" album.
7. He has a cameo in Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" music video.
8. Father of Jennifer Candy and Chris Candy.
9. He attended Holy Cross Catholic School up to grade 8 which was the same school attended by actress Natalie Higashi, several years later.
10. Graduated Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School.
11. He was born in East York (which is a suburb of Toronto) and he attended high school in Scarborough (another suburb of Toronto).
12. Turned down repeated offers to join Saturday Night Live (1975), citing devotion to his fellow SCTV (1976) cast members.
13. At the time of his death, he had appeared in ten movies with Saturday Night Live (1975) alumni, more than any other non-SNL actor. That record has since been surpassed by Nick Swardson, who (as of 2016) has appeared in 18 movies with SNL alumni, including: Almost Famous (2000), Grandma's Boy (2006), The Benchwarmers (2006), Reno 911!: Miami (2007), Blades of Glory (2007), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Bedtime Stories (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011), Jack and Jill (2011), That's My Boy (2012), A Haunted House (2013), Grown Ups 2(2013), Pixels (2015), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), Hell and Back (2015), The Ridiculous 6 (2015), and The Do-Over (2016).
14. He stayed in the notorious Whidden Hall residence during his years at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
15. His father, Sidney, died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1955 when John was only five years old.
16. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 87-88. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN [login to see]
17. Weighed over 300 pounds for most of his life.
18. Turned down the role of Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984). It went to Rick Moranis. Candy, did however, appear in Ray Parker Jr.'s music video "Ghost Busters", celebrating the soundtrack of the film, along with other individuals who either refused to be in or failed to make the final cut for casting of the film.
19. According to Catherine O'Hara, just before going to Mexico Candy talked to her on the phone and told her that he feared going to Mexico because he felt that "something bad is going to happen there".
20. Has appeared in more John Hughes movies than any other actor, starring or doing cameos in seven of them: National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) co-starring Steve Martin, The Great Outdoors (1988) co-starring Dan Aykroyd, and appears in a cameo in She's Having a Baby (1988). Stars in Uncle Buck(1989), co-starring a young Macaulay Culkin. Has a brief cameo in Career Opportunities(1991) and a bit part alongside SCTV (1976) alumni and best friend Catherine O'Hara in Home Alone (1990) also starring Macaulay Culkin.
21. Sat in the front row for Super Bowl XXIII (49ers vs. Bengals). According to legend, right before the 49ers game-winning drive, quarterback Joe Montana pointed toward the stands and said to tackle Harris Barton, "Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?".
22. Was supposed to host Saturday Night Live (1975) with Eugene Levy in 1985 (he, Levy and Billy Crystal did a promo for it on SNL the week before it was supposed to happen), but that episode never happened, due to a writer's strike shortly after the promo was aired.
23. Pictured on one of four 51¢ Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring "Canadians in Hollywood", issued 22 May 2006. Others honored in this set are Fay Wray, Lorne Greene, and Mary Pickford.
24. Was a good friend of Wayne Gretzky and was co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with him.
25. Was considered by many to be one of the most genuinely nice people in Hollywood/Show Business.
26. He played a member of law enforcement in at least 10 movies; It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975), The Clown Murders (1976), Find the Lady (1976), The Blues Brothers (1980), Heavy Metal (1981), Follow That Bird (1985), Armed and Dangerous(1986) (although his character was a security guard for most of the film, he was wrongfully terminated as a police officer in the beginning of the movie), Only the Lonely(1991), Nothing But Trouble (1991), Canadian Bacon (1995). This does not include National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), in which he played a rent-a-cop or Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), in which he played a private investigator.
27. Was a fan of Doctor Who.
28. Was a part-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky. The group signed Raghib Ismail on the first day of the 1991 NFL draft, where he was projected the #1 overall pick.
29. In a 2004 interview Steve Martin stated that at the time of John's death Steve was going through a divorce, so he briefly moved in with John's widow and daughters to help them out through this tough time and to get away from his soon to be ex-wife.
30. His house near Newmarket, Ontario, Canada was just several blocks from the residence of fellow Canadian comedian Jim Carrey.
31. Many of his friends state that he never had anything bad to say about anyone.
32. He turned down Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984) because he felt his good friend Rick Moranis was better suited for the parts.
33. In attendance at his funeral were Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Mariel Hemingway, Rhea Perlman, Ed Harris, Catherine O'Haraand Dan Aykroyd (who delivered the eulogy).
34. Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998 (charter member).
35. His original A&E Biography (1987) was actually a televised tribute to John Candy, called "A Tribute to John Candy", that was aired shortly after his death.
36. He was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. He officially quit smoking cigarettes a few months before he passed away.
37. His production company was "Frostbacks Productions".
38. According to Eugene Levy, John Candy was so beloved that when the procession was heading to the cemetery where John was interred, he looked over and saw that there was no traffic on the 405 Freeway and that police officers were stationed at the on-ramps holding traffic. When he asked a police officer what was going on, he was informed that the decision to stop traffic was up to the LAPD. Further, the only other times they stopped traffic was for Presidential motorcades and when the Pope visited Los Angeles.
39. John's mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. John's maternal grandparents, Frank Michael Aker and Jozefa Stefaniuk, were both immigrants from Eastern Europe.
40. Lived in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death.
41. Repeatedly turned down offers to play Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle in several proposed biopics, mainly since he stated he simply wasn't interested in playing him.
42. When John Candy died one of his obituaries read hes been in more turkeys than stuffing mix but everybody loved him anyway!.
43. The Canadian screen awards (the combination of the Canadian Oscars and Emmy) is now called the Candy in honour of him.
44. Did the role of Gus Polinski in Home Alone (1990) for free.
45. Born nineteen days after Caroline Ellis, of The Bugaloos (1970) fame.
46. Two movies he appeared in The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Home Alone (1990) were released on the same day November 16th 1990.
47. Was friends with Eugene Levy, and Steve Martin.
48. His performance as Dean Andrews in JFK (1991) is believed by many critics to be his best work.
49. During his screen-time as Dean Andrews in JFK (1991), the nervous sweat seen on his face is real, as the thought of acting in a dramatic film opposite such heavyweight actors as Donald Sutherland and Gary Oldman made him very scared.
50. River Phoenix died on his 43rd and final birthday.
51. In two movies he plays a passenger who gets on the nerves of a passenger whom is sitting next to him: In fact in both movies, he is sitting in a window seat on the right side of the aircraft and his victim was to his left in the aisle seat: Volunteers (1985) & Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). And in Volunteers he led the other passengers into song (Puff the Magic Dragon (1978) to be exact) on the airplane. In Planes & Trains he led everyone into song (The Flintstones (1960)) on board a passenger bus.

Personal Quotes (9)
1. I think I may have become an actor to hide from myself. You can escape into a character.
2. [on Ghostbusters (1984)] Harold [Ramis] had called and things just didn't go well with the negotiations on it. We didn't see eye to eye on certain things and the rest is history. But Rick [Moranis] did a great job with it.
3. [on Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)] It offered me a lot of different characters to play and it was a lot of fun.
4. [on Uncle Buck (1989)] In the movie, Uncle Buck doesn't talk down to these kids. And I think that's why they like him. He treats them as an equal.
5. I've been taking shots at Tri-star for their non-campaign of Who's Harry Crumb? (1989). I mean, good God, there's a team for ya. They sunk the picture and all got promotions for it.
6. I should have been in Ghostbusters (1984).
7. [on Wired (1989)] I have no desire to see that. I don't see the need. I didn't see the need for the book. I don't see the need for the movie. Let it alone. Why? Why do we have to drag that out? Its such dirty laundry.
8. [on Eugene Levy] He's wonderful. A great friend.
9. [on reading the script of Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) for the first time] I just cried with laughter when I read it. Its like it was written with me in mind, which makes a big difference. I could see just see the movie in my mind.

Salary
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) $1,000,000
Splash (1984) $350,000
Summer Rental (1985) $800,000
Armed and Dangerous (1986) $2,000,000"

The Best of John Candy SCTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Ytiqy_Kj8

FYI LTC John Griscom LTC Wayne Brandon CPT Jim Gallagher] 1SG John Millan MSgt John McGowanMSgt David M. SSgt Boyd HerrstSSG Diane R.SPC Andrew RossSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry MuchaSGT John Meredith Sgt (Join to see) LCpl Emanuel W. SPC William WeedmanPO3 Steven Sherrill LTC Bill Koski SGM Steve Wettstein