biography of John Candy

John Franklin Candy

 (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its SCTV sketch comedy series. He rose to international fame in the 1980s with his roles in comedy films such as Stripes (1981), Splash (1984), Brewster's Millions (1985), Armed and Dangerous (1986), Spaceballs (1987), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989), and Cool Runnings (1993). He also appeared in supporting roles in The Blues Brothers (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Home Alone (1990) and Nothing but Trouble (1991).

In addition to his work as an actor, Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the team won the 1991 Grey Cup under his ownership. He died in 1994 at the age of 43. His final two film appearances, Wagons East (1994) and Canadian Bacon (1995), are dedicated to his memory.

John Franklin Candy was born on October 31, 1950, in Newmarket, and grew up in Toronto, Ontario  He was brought up in a working class Catholic family.  His childhood home was at 217 Woodville Avenue in Toronto, Ontario. According to the 1921 Canadian census records Candy's father Sidney James (1920–1955) was born to English parents who immigrated to Canada in 1913. John Candy's mother, Evangeline Valeria (née Aker; 1916–2009) was of Polish descent. ^: 19 His father died of complications of heart disease at age 35 in 1955 when John was four years old. 

Candy attended Neil McNeil Catholic High School where he was the treasurer of the student council and was a star offensive tackle on the school's football team and participated in drama club. Long before considering acting, Candy dreamed of becoming a professional football player, but a knee injury during his high school football career prevented him from fulfilling his dream. He later enrolled in Centennial College to study journalism, and then went to McMaster University.^[10][11] He started acting while at college

About

Lovable comedian from Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles who died at age 43. His other films include National Lampoon's Vacation, The Rescuers Down Under, Cool Runnings, Wagons East, and The Magic 7.

Before Fame

He played football for an all-boys Catholic school in Canada. In 1973, he made his film debut in Class of '44.

Trivia

He starred in Michael Moore's Canadian Bacon, which was released a year after his death.

• 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 children to help them out through this tough time and to get away from his soon to be ex-wife.
• 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.
• Turned down repeated offers to join Saturday Night Live (1975), citing devotion to his fellow SCTV (1976) cast members.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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'Hara and Dan Aykroyd (who delivered the eulogy).
• He was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. He officially quit smoking cigarettes a few months before he passed away.
• Did the role of Gus Polinski in Home Alone (1990) for free.
• His father, Sidney, died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1955 when John was only five years old.
• Was a good friend of Wayne Gretzky and was co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with him.
• He died while filming Wagons East (1994) in Mexico.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• His performance as Dean Andrews in JFK (1991) is believed by many critics to be his best work.
• Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA in the Mausoleum, Room 7, Block 1.
• 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.
• Super Bowl XXIII (49ers vs. Bengals). According to legend, right before the 49ers game-winning drive, quarterback Joe Montana pointed toward the sideline and said to tackle Harris Barton, "Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?".
• The Canadian screen awards (the combination of the Canadian Oscars and Emmy) is now called the Candy in honour of him.
• 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.
• Was a fan of Doctor Who.
• Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998 (charter member).
• He was known to be very kind and generous to those he met. In an interview with Tommy "Tiny" Lister on Hannibal TV he told a story while on the set of Armed and Dangerous, John Candy went up to a security guard and hugged him due to he was having run of bad luck and was about to lose his house. Unbeknownst to the security guard, Candy had slipped him $10,000 dollar's to pay for his house. He was also paid for a funeral for one of his assistants and told the assistant to return when they were ready.
• 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.
• He was good friends with Macaulay Culkin, who appeared with Candy in Uncle Buck (1989) and Home Alone (1990). Candy and Culkin had reportedly been in talks of doing another movie together at the time of the former's death.
• 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.
• His house near Newmarket, Ontario, Canada was just several blocks from the residence of fellow Canadian comedian Jim Carrey.
• 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.
• 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.
• Father of Jennifer Candy and Chris Candy.
• Adam Sandler had written the role of Principal Max Anderson in Billy Madison (1995) with Candy in mind. However Candy passed away before Sandler and the filmmakers could ask him to participate. Josh Mostel eventually got the role.
• Weighed over 300 pounds for most of his life.
• He was born in East York (which is a suburb of Toronto) and he attended high school in Scarborough (another suburb of Toronto).
• 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.
• Two movies he appeared in The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Home Alone (1990) were released on the same day November 16th 1990.
• He has a cameo in Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" music video.
• He was supposed to appear on a 1985 episode of Saturday Night Live (1975) with Eugene Levy and musical guests Daryl Hall and John Oates but due to a writer's strike the episode never aired.
• His death occurred on his friend and SCTV (1976) co-star Catherine O'Hara's 40th birthday.
• He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Blues Brothers (1980) and Home Alone (1990).
• He later regretted turning down the role of Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984) so much that when Ghostbusters co-writer and co-star as well as close friend Dan Aykroyd offered him two roles in his directorial debut a similar comedy-horror themed film Nothing But Trouble (1991) he immediately accepted because he felt with Aykroyd in charge it would be successful. However the film turned out to be a huge critical and financial failure.
• Was friends with Eugene Levy, and Steve Martin.
• His production company was "Frostbacks Productions".
• His Planes Trains and Automobiles (1987) co-star Steve Martin has publicly said his performance in that film was his very best among all his work.
• Lived in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death.

Family Life

He was married to Rosemary Margaret Hobor from 1979 until his death in 1994. His children are Jennifer Candy and Christopher Candy.

Associated With

He starred in Spaceballs with Bill Pullman.

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