Movie Musings: Disney and More

John Candy: A Teddy Bear of a Comedian

He made us laugh like crazy in all kinds of comedies throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Stripes (1981), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), and Home Alone (1990) to name a few, playing clumsy, but likable guys in pretty much every one of them. Originating from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, he performed on Canadian television and was the co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League for three years. He even made two films for the Walt Disney Studios. He is none other than John Candy!

John Franklin Candy was born on October 31st (Halloween Night), 1950 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. He was raised in a working-class Roman Catholic family, and after graduating from Neil McNeill Catholic High School, he enrolled in Centennial Community College to study journalism. It was there, however, that he discovered that the also had an interest in performing, deciding to to pursue that instead and at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

In his early 20s, he guest starred on Canadian-produced television shows called Cucumber (1970) and Police Surgeon (1971-1975). His big break, however, came at the age of 27, when he officially became a member of the Toronto branch of the comedy troupe, The Second City. Many of the other members of the troupe would became lifelong friends of his, i.e.: Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, and Harold Ramis. Candy and his Toronto Second City colleagues collaborated with Andrew Alexander to create the show SCTV (1976-1981). 

John Candy made his film debut in an uncredited appearance in a comedy called Class of ’44 (1973). His first credited film appearance, however, was alongside pal Dan Aykroyd in Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979). He landed another role the following year in The Blues Brothers (1980), reuniting him with Aykroyd; and then he starred as Ox alongside Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in Stripes (1981). He later reunited with his Second City alumni for the show SCTV Network (1981-1983), before he landed the role of Tom Hank’s womanizing brother, Freddie Bauer, in Ron Howard’s Splash (1984), the first film ever produced by Disney’s spin-off label, Touchstone Films. Many have argued that this is the role that made John Candy a superstar. He had originally wanted to play the role of the villainous Dr. Walter Kornbluth in the film, though Ron Howard convinced him to play Freddie instead. As a result, Candy suggested Eugene Levy for Walter. Around the time of “Splash,” Columbia offered him the role of Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984). He considered it, but ultimately declined, believing that his buddy Rick Moranis would be a much better fit for the role.      

John Candy’s first role as a leading man was in Summer Rental (1985), directed by Carl Reiner. Two years after that, he made his very first collaboration with comedy writing/producing/directing legend John Hughes in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), which would also be his first official pairing with Steve Martin. Martin and Candy previously appeared in Warner Bros. film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors (1986), which also featured Bill Murray and Rick Moranis, though their scenes were not together. Since making “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” both Martin and Candy have stated that the film is the favorite of both of their careers. ’87 continued as a busy year for Candy, because with the role of Barf in Mel Brooks’s Spaceballs. In ’88, John Candy reunited with Hughes and Aykroyd in The Great Outdoors as Chet Ripley (written and produced by Hughes, and directed by Howard Deutch). Candy also made a cameo as Chet in She’s Having a Baby (1988), which was also written, produced, and directed by John Hughes.

Candy made his fourth collaboration with John Hughes in Uncle Buck in 1989, which also starred Macaulay Culkin. Prior to that, he was offered the role of Wayne Szalinski by Disney, once again declining in favor of Moranis. He ultimately accepted Disney’s offer to voice the cartoon character of Wilbur the Albatross of Albatross Airlines in The Rescuers Down Under (1990), the sequel to The Rescuers (1977). That same year, he played the role of Gus Polinski, Polka King of the Midwest, in Home Alone (1990), his fifth collaboration with John Hughes. It also reunited him with Catherine O’Hara and Macaulay Culkin. Ironically, both “Rescuers Down Under,” and “Home Alone,” were released on November 16th.  

During “Home Alone,” Candy became close with director Chris Columbus and it wasn’t long before they were working together again on Only the Lonely (1991) which was written and directed by Columbus and also featured Macaulay Culkin and his younger brother, Kieran, along with Ally Sheedy, Jim Belushi, and Silver Screen Legends, Anthony Quinn and Maureen O’Hara. While filming on location in Chicago, Candy noticed that he was staying in a much bigger trailer than Maureen O’Hara. Bothered by that, he asked the production team why that was the case, and they explained that there wasn’t enough money in the film’s budget for him and O’Hara both to have big trailers, so purely out of generosity, he traded trailers with O’Hara. 

The same year as “Only the Lonely,” Candy starred in the film JFK, which received a Best Picture Oscar Nomination. ’91 was also the year that he, along with Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall, became co-owners of the Toronto Argonauts. Candy, Gretzky, and McNall worked together on signing some of the team’s most valuable players, including wide receiver Raghib Ramadian “Rocket” Ismail, and they were over the moon when the Argonauts took home the 1991 Grey Cup. Candy didn’t completely shy away from making movies though, starring in Disney’s Cool Runnings in 1993 and making his directorial debut in 1994 in Hostage For a Day which starred George Wendt.

John Candy tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 43 on March 4th, 1994. At the time, he was in Durango, Mexico shooting the movie, Wagons East (1994). Prior to going there, he spoke to good friend Catherine O’Hara that he was afraid about going to Mexico because he had a gut feeling that “something bad is going to happen there,” and that was the last time they spoke. “Hostage For a Day” and “Wagons East,” were both released after his death, along with another film called Canadian Bacon (1995), which was a reunion for him with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. All of his best friends were in attendance at his funeral and eulogies were delivered by both Aykroyd and Catherine O’Hara. At the time of his death, Disney had also recorded a great deal of his voice for the character of Redfeather the Turkey in Pocahontas (1995), but the character was deleted from the film after his unfortunate death.