John Candy

Hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since we lost actor and comedian John Candy, who died on this date in 1995 after suffering a heart attack.

Candy, who was only 43 at the time of his death—had already impacted American pop culture with his parade of hit movies. Even the ones that didn’t get…shall we say…”critical acclaim”? Well, they were still funny whenever he was on screen.

Canadian born, Candy was accepted into the prestigious Second City Comedy troupe in Toronto in 1972. He would later become a regular writer and performer on the show SCTV. When the show moved to network TV in 1981, Candy moved too—and won Emmy Awards for writing the show.

His most famous and recurring role was that of “Yosh Schmenge”, a clarinet player in a polka band.

Candy had his first break in movies with “Splash” in 1984, playing alongside a young actor named Tom Hanks. The film, directed by Ron Howard was a huge hit, launching the careers of Candy, Hanks, and Darryl Hannah.

Weighing in at up to 275 pounds and standing six foot-three, Candy would struggle with weight problems regularly, but, like Chris Farley and even John Belushi, the excess weight undoubtedly contributed to his comedic impact, where his clumsy physical antics would send audiences howling.

After “Splash”, the next ten years would see Candy starring in such box office hits as “Spaceballs”,”The Great Outdoors” and “Uncle Buck”. For me, his funniest—and most poignant performance was alongside Steve Martin in “Trains, Planes and Automobiles”

If you can watch this and NOT laugh, then you have no funny bone whatsoever and need to see a doctor:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7v0eth4XAM


At the time of his death, Candy had just completed his directorial debut and was two thirds through filming “Wagons East”. It was on location for this movie in Durango, Mexico where Candy was stricken.

While Chris Farley (whom we also lost way too soon) became the “successor” if you will to the lovable overweight character roles in these movies, there will never be another John Candy. No pun intended, but the world truly lost a comedic heavyweight when John left us.

The good news is that he is no doubt upstairs—not playing the harp—but probably the clarinet—and keeping the angels in stitches.

If you’d like my blog in your box weekdays, just drop me a line: tim.moore@citcomm.com