Profile of John Candy on Famous Like Me

John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of 3/4 Scottish and 1/4 Polish descent, Candy was a member of Toronto's The Second City comedy troupe and gained widespread North American popularity when, in 1976, he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based TV comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV).

From there he went on to star in such Hollywood movies as Splash, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Spaceballs, Brewster's Millions and Uncle Buck. He typically played characters who, while they lived somewhat seedy lives, often had their hearts in the right place. Candy was lauded by some as a true comic genius and this lay in his ability to portray an "everyman" that the audience could identify with. Candy was also a dramatic actor and appeared in films like JFK and The Silent Partner.

In the 1980s Candy also appeared in an HBO spoof documentary titled The Canadian Conspiracy about the supposed subversion of the United States by Canadian-born media personalities.

Candy starred in a short-lived animated series in 1989 entitled Camp Candy. The show, which was broadcast on Saturday mornings and was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, also featured his children Jennifer and Christopher Candy in supporting roles. The animated series also spawned a brief comic book series based on the show and again starring Candy; also entitled Camp Candy it was published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.

In the early 1990s, Candy returned to animation to record a voice for the TV movie The Magic 7. However, this movie stayed in production for a very long time, due to animation difficulties and production delays. It was shelved for quite some time, but is now due to be released in 2005, more than ten years after the actor's death.

John Candy died at the young age of 43 of a heart attack while filming on location in Durango, Mexico, for the movie Wagons East. He had been warned several times by his doctors to cut his weight due to his genetic predisposition to heart disease from which his father had died but he refused, stating that his portly frame was what gave him his film roles. His heart attack was actually caused from his being a heavy smoker.

His funeral, held at St. Michael's Cathedral, was broadcast live on television across Canada. He is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

He is an inductee of Canada's Walk of Fame.

Filmography

• Class of '44 (1973)
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975)
• Tunnel Vision (1976)
• The Clown Murders (1976)
• Find the Lady (1976)
• The Silent Partner (1978)
• Lost and Found (1979)
• 1941 (1979)
• Double Negative (1980)
• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• Stripes (1981)
• Heavy Metal (1981) (voice)
• It Came from Hollywood (1982) (documentary)
• National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
• Going Berserk (1983)
• Splash (1984)
• Brewster's Millions (1985)
• Follow That Bird (1985)
• Summer Rental (1985)
• Volunteers (1985)
• Tears Are Not Enough (1985) (documentary)
• Armed and Dangerous (1986)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
• Spaceballs (1987)
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
• She's Having a Baby (1988) (Cameo)
• The Great Outdoors (1988)
• Hot to Trot (1988) (voice only)
• Who's Harry Crumb? (1989) (also executive producer)
• Speed Zone! (1989)
• Uncle Buck (1989)
• Masters of Menace (1990) (Cameo)
• Home Alone (1990)
• The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (voice)
• Nothing But Trouble (1991)
• Career Opportunities (1991)
• Only the Lonely (1991)
• Delirious (1991)
• JFK (1991)
• Once Upon a Crime... (1992)
• Boris and Natasha (1992)
• Rookie of the Year (1993)
• Cool Runnings (1993)
• Wagons East (1994)
• Canadian Bacon (1995)

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