Legendary Moms

Legendary Moms

In October 2025, two acting legends passed away, both of whom voiced mother figures for Disney. In tribute to them, let’s examine their Disney contributions, as well as their versatility and career trademarks. 

Diane Keaton provided the voice of Jenny, Dory’s mother in Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory (2016). Keaton was close friends in real life with Dory’s voice, Ellen DeGeneres, frequently guest-starring on DeGeneres’s talk show, Ellen (2003-2023). One of Keaton’s special characteristics was creating the idea that women could dress like men in movies, which could easily be said of her performances in Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam (1972) and/or Annie Hall (1977), the latter of which won her the Best Actress Oscar. She was also a member of the Ensemble in the Original Broadway cast of Hair (1968). 

Furthermore, Keaton was known for wearing white, which she wore a lot of in Something’s Gotta Give (2003), which was directed by Nancy Meyers and earned Keaton her last Oscar nod. Keaton made eight films for Woody Allen and five films for Nancy Meyers, including Father of the Bride Trilogy (1991-2020), which was Touchstone produced. Not to mention her iconic role as Kay Adams Corleone in The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990). Diane Keaton was definitely “one of a kind” in a male-dominated Hollywood with her sense of style and acting mastery. 

Samantha Eggar voiced Hera, Hercules’s mythological mother in Hercules (1997). Though it was Eggar’s only Disney contribution, she did star opposite Rex Harrison in the family-friendly musical, Doctor Dolittle (1967). She became a “Shakespearean” actor before foraying into movies, starring in the leading roles in productions of Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Cort Theatre in the UK. Besides “Dolittle,” she made several films with “Doctor” in the title, including the British-produced Doctor Crippen (1962) and Doctor in Distress (1963). 

Samantha Eggar wasn’t known for any specific trademark, but she was held in high regard for her Oscar-nominated performance in William Wyler’s The Collector (1965). Although she lost the Oscar to Julie Christie for Darling (1965), she did take home the Golden Globe for Best Actress Drama. (Samantha Eggar is one of 31 actors to earn Oscar nominations for performances under William Wyler’s guidance, a record that remains unbroken today.) Eggar reprised the role of Hera for Disney’s short-lived Hercules (1998-1999) television series. 

Diane Keaton passed away due to pneumonia on October 11th, 2025 and Samantha Eggar passed on October 15, 2025 (causes are undisclosed). Both ladies had incredible careers in Hollywood, and any movie lover can tip their hats to both of them.  

Review: "John Candy: I Like Me"

Review: "John Candy: I Like Me"

“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die,” is one of my favorite quotes from The Sandlot (1993). And it definitely comes to mind as I think about the subject of today’s blog: John Candy was both a hero and a legend of a comedy. On October 10th, 2025, Amazon Prime released the documentary John Candy: I Like Me, in commemoration of Candy’s line “I like me. My wife likes me.” From Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987).

“John Candy: I Like Me,” depicts how John Candy built his own career, how he met his wife (with whom he collaborated closely), and relationships he had with his close acting friends: Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks, Catherine O’Hara, and many others. There are also nostalgic clips of Candy’s sketches he performed on the Canadian Television Show SCTV (1976-1981), which are hilarious to say the least. 

As each interviewee is screened, everyone acknowledges their friendship with the late comedian and how being friends with him made differences in their own careers. Emotions run high for them also as they talk about how talk about their reactions to his passing on March 4th, 1994, at age 43. (The cause of John Candy’s death was a heart attack, which ironically happened to his own father, Sidney James Candy at age of 35.)

In addition to celebrities, the film features interviews with John Candy’s surviving family: daughter, Jennifer, son, Chris, and wife, Rose, with whom he shared a unique closeness. Footage of home movies indicate the family together and his efforts to always do the best he could to take care of all of them. Many of those interviewed also acknowledge that the hardest thing he endured throughout his whole life/career was his own struggle to take care of himself. (Sadly, the family described that John always tried to loose his weight but then bulked himself back up again because the industry “liked him that way.”)

Perhaps most recognizable to many are the films Candy made for the late writer/producer/director and good friend, John Hughes: “Planes, Trains…” Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), etc. Disney Lovers might also remember John Candy for playing Freddie Bauer (Tom Hanks’s character’s brother) in Splash (1984), or as the voice of Wilbur the Albatross in The Rescuers Down Under (1990), or even as Irving Blitzer, the coach from the bobsled comedy Cool Runnings (1993). Another one of Candy’s most iconic characters was playing Barf the Mog (Half-Man, Half-Dog) in Mel Brooks’s Spacebars (1987).

Amazon’s documentary is guaranteed to make you feel the emotion of John Candy’s hilarious, but tragically short life. But it will also guaranteed to make you have and/or deepen your appreciation for his hysterical contributions to movies.