John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian who rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its SCTV series and through his appearance in Hollywood films.
Who is John Candy?
Canadian actor and comedian John Candy got his big break when he featured in comedy films, including Stripes (1981), Splash (1984), Summer Rental (1985), Spaceballs (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989), and Cool Runnings (1993). Candy is best known for playing dramatic roles in Only the Lonely and JFK (1991).
He is also popular for playing the role of Del Griffith, the talkative shower-curtain ring salesman in the John Hughes comedy film Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).
Aside from acting, Candy was a co-owner of Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The team won the 1991 Grey Cup under his ownership. Candy died of a heart attack while shooting a film in Mexico in 1994. His final two film appearances, Canadian Bacon and Wagons East are dedicated to his memory.
Earl Life
Candy was born on 31 October 1950 in Toronto, Canada, and grew up in the city’s East York neighborhood. He was the son of Sidney James Candy (1920-1955) and Evangeline Candy (1916-2009). Candy was brought up in a working-class Catholic family. At age five, his father died of heart disease complications at age 35 in 1955.
Candy studied at Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto and later enrolled at Centennial Community College. He had always wanted to be a football player, but a knee injury prevented him from becoming one. Candy started acting while at college.
Early Career
Candy was cast as a Shriner in Creeps by David E. Freeman in 1971. Candy guest-starred in a Canadian children’s television series, Cucumber, and made a small appearance in Class of 44. He had a regular role on the TV series Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (1974-75) and played a small part in The ABC Afternoon Playbreak (“Last Bride of Salem”)
In 1975, he appeared in the episode “Web of Guilt” on the Canadian TV show Police Surgeon, playing Richie, an accused killer. During the same year, he also appeared in It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, which was filmed in Canada. Candy and Dan Aykroyd were in the children’s sitcom Coming Up Rosie (1975-78). In 1976, Candy had a small role in Tunnel Vision.
Candy, alongside Rick Moranis, played a supporting role on Peter Gzowski’s short-lived late-night television talk show 90 Minutes Live in 1976. In 1978, Candy played in the Canadian thriller The Silent Partner with Christopher Plummer and Elliott Gould.
The Second City
In 1972, Candy became a member of Toronto’s branch of The Second City. As a member of the enterprise, he gained wide North American popularity, which continued to grow, especially when he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). The show won Emmy Awards for its writing in 1981 and 1982.
During the series’ run, Candy appeared in films like The Clown Murders (1976) and had a lead in a low-budget comedy, Find the Lady (1976). He had a small role in the thriller The Silent Partner (1978) and guest starred on such shows as The David Steinberg Show and King of Kensington.
Early Hollywood Roles
Candy took a short hiatus from SCTV and began a more active career in 1979. He appeared in a minor role in Lost and Found (1979) and played a U.S. Army soldier in Steven Spielberg’s big-budget comedy 1941.
In 1980, Candy returned to Canada for roles in The Blues Brothers, the action thriller Double Negative, and The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog. He did an episode of Tales of the Klondike for Canadian TV in 1981.
Candy hosted a short-lived NBC television program, Roadshow, in 1980. The program was described by The Washington Post as “improvisational journalism.” Candy and a video crew traveled in a tour bus to Baton Rouge, LA, and Carbondale, IL. They interviewed a number of college students amid party atmospheres such as the latter’s Halloween street celebration. It’s unknown if more than two episodes aired.
Untimely Death
John Candy died on March 4, 1994, at the age of 43. When tragedy struck, he had just completed work on a new western comedy, Wagons East. It was later reported that Candy had suffered a heart attack in his sleep.
In addition to obesity, Candy had a number of risk factors for heart attack, including strong family history (his father died prematurely of a heart attack), use of cocaine, heavy alcohol consumption, and smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Candy left behind a wife, Rosemary, and two children, Jennifer and Christopher.