John Candy

Blues Brothers 2000 is dedicated to three people, including Candy, who played a supporting role in the original Blues Brothers. A tribute to Candy was hosted by Dan Aykroyd at the 2007 Grey Cup festivities in Toronto in November 2007.

Candy was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998. In May 2006, Candy became one of the first four entertainers ever honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.

While filming the Western parody Wagons East, Candy died of a heart attack in Durango, Mexico on March 4, 1994, aged 43. His final two films Wagons East and Canadian Bacon are dedicated to his memory.

He made his directorial debut in the 1994 comedy Hostage for a Day, in which he also made a cameo appearance. His last appearances were in Canadian Bacon (1995) and Wagons East.

In 1994, while on vacation from film production (Wagons East) in Durango City, Mexico, Candy called his friends, including Canadian Football League commissioner Larry Smith, and told them that he had just let go of his team and was putting it up for sale. He then called his assistant, who invited Candy to play golf with him in the spring when he returned to Toronto. After cooking a late night lasagna dinner for friends, Candy turned in for what would be his final rest. Some time after midnight, on March 4, 1994, Candy was found dead from a presumed myocardial infarction. The exact cause is uncertain, as no autopsy was performed. He was 43 years old. In addition to his obesity — Candy tended to suffer attacks of binge eating in response to professional struggles and weighed in excess of 275 pounds at some points in his life — Candy had a number of risk factors for heart attack, including a strong family history (both his father and his brother had died prematurely of heart attacks, although his children say he was unaware of his genetic risk), smoking a pack a day of cigarettes, high alcohol use, and occasional use of cocaine. Candy was concerned about his weight, frequently dieting and exercising with trainers in light of his family history. Candy also had a family history of heart attacks suffered by relatively young men, and the actor was under a significant degree of stress throughout the making of the Wagons East feature film. In 2019, documentary-style television series Autopsy: The Last Hours of... covered a storyline on Candy's death.

Candy's funeral was held at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Los Angeles. Candy was entombed in the mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His crypt lies just above fellow actor Fred MacMurray. On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for Candy, produced by his former improvisation troupe, the Second City, was broadcast across Canada.

Ween's Chocolate and Cheese album, released in 1994, is "dedicated in loving memory to John Candy (1950–1994)". At the time Gene Ween remarked, "there was so much going on about Kurt Cobain, and nobody mentioned John Candy at all. I have a special little spot in my heart for him."

Candy starred in his first comedic hit in a number of years with Cool Runnings (1993).

During this time, Candy played a dramatic role as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991).

In 1991, Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and Candy became owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. The celebrity ownership group attracted attention in Canada and the team spent a significant amount of money, even signing some highly touted National Football League prospects such as wide receiver Raghib Ismail. The Argonauts took home the 1991 Grey Cup, beating Calgary, 36–21, in the final. Only McNall's name was etched onto the Grey Cup trophy as an owner of the team, but the CFL corrected the error in 2007 and added Candy's and Gretzky's names as well.

Chris Columbus wrote and directed Only the Lonely (1991) starring Candy and Maureen O'Hara which was well reviewed but not a big hit.

Also unsuccessful was the comedy Delirious (1991) and Once Upon a Crime... (1992). He had a cameo in Boris and Natasha: The Movie (1992) and the successful Rookie of the Year (1993).

He provided a voice for The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and had a support part in Nothing But Trouble (1991), Dan Aykroyd's notorious box office flop.

Wagons East was completed using a stunt double and special effects and released five months after Candy's death. His final completed film was Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore that was released a year after Candy's death. Candy played American sheriff Bud Boomer, who led an "invasion" of Canada. Candy recorded a voice for the TV film The Magic 7 in the early 1990s. The film remained in production for years due to animation difficulties and production delays, and it was shelved.

Candy also produced and starred in a Saturday-morning animated series on NBC titled Camp Candy in 1989. The show was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, featured his two children in supporting roles, and also spawned a brief comic book series published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.

Candy made The Rocket Boy (1989) in Canada and had a cameo in two more films written by Hughes, the hit film Home Alone (1990) and the box office flop Career Opportunities (1991).

Candy provided the voice for Don the horse in Hot to Trot (1988) and starred in a flop comedy, Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), which he also produced. He was one of several names in Cannonball Fever (1989) and had another hit film with Hughes in Uncle Buck (1989).

Candy had a hit film when he starred in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) with Steve Martin, written and directed by John Hughes. He did a cameo in Hughes' She's Having a Baby (1988), then starred in a film written by Hughes, The Great Outdoors (1988), co starring Aykroyd.

Candy's second starring role in a Hollywood film was Armed and Dangerous (1986) with Levy and Meg Ryan. He had a cameo in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and appeared in Really Weird Tales (1987). He also had a supporting role in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987).

Candy went back to Canada to star in The Last Polka (1985) which he also wrote with co-star Eugene Levy. He was Richard Pryor's best friend on Brewster's Millions (1985) and had a cameo in the Sesame Street film Follow That Bird (1985).

Candy's first lead role in a Hollywood film came with Summer Rental (1985), directed by Carl Reiner. He was reunited with Hanks in Volunteers (1985), though the film did not do as well as Splash. He had a cameo in The Canadian Conspiracy (1985) and appeared alongside Martin Short in Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1985) in Canada.

Candy appeared on Saturday Night Live twice (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV. According to writer-comedian Bob Odenkirk, Candy was reputedly the "most-burned potential host" of SNL, in that he was asked to host many times, only for plans to be changed by the SNL staff at the last minute.

Candy headlined in the Canadian film Going Berserk (1983). He was approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (completed and released in 1984), starring Aykroyd and directed by Reitman, but ultimately did not get the role because of his conflicting ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to SCTV colleague Rick Moranis, whose ideas were better received. However, Candy did make a contribution to the franchise, as one of the many people chanting "Ghostbusters" in the video for Ray Parker Jr.'s hit single for the movie.

As a member of Toronto's branch of the Second City, he gained wide North American popularity, which grew when he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). NBC picked the show up in 1981 and it quickly became a fan favorite. It won Emmy Awards for the show's writing in 1981 and 1982.

Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxberger in Stripes (1981), directed by Canadian Ivan Reitman, which was one of the most successful films of the year. He provided voices for multiple characters in the animated film Heavy Metal (1981).

From 1981-83 Candy appeared in SCTV Network on television. He made a cameo appearance in Harold Ramis's National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), his first collaboration with John Hughes, who wrote the script.

He returned to Canada for roles in The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog (1980) and the action thriller Double Negative (1980). He had a supporting role as easygoing parole officer Burton Mercer in The Blues Brothers (1980), starring Aykroyd, and did an episode of Tales of the Klondike (1981) for Canadian TV.

In 1979, Candy took a short hiatus from SCTV and began a more active film career, appearing in a minor role in Lost and Found (1979) and playing a US Army soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941.

In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski's short-lived, late-night television talk show, 90 Minutes Live. In 1978, Candy had a small role as a bank employee (with Christopher Plummer and Elliott Gould) in the Canadian thriller The Silent Partner.

During the series' run he appeared in films like The Clown Murders (1976) and had a lead in a low-budget comedy, Find the Lady (1976). He guest starred on shows like The David Steinberg Show and King of Kensington and had a small role in the thriller The Silent Partner (1978).

In 1975, he played Richie, an accused killer, in episode "Web of Guilt" on the Canadian TV show Police Surgeon. He was in It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975), shot in Canada, as well as the children's sitcom Coming Up Rosie (1975–78) with Dan Aykroyd.

He had a small part in The ABC Afternoon Playbreak ("Last Bride of Salem") and had a regular role on the TV series Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (1974–75).

Candy was interested in performing. He guest starred on a Canadian children's television series, Cucumber, and made a small, uncredited appearance in Class of '44 (1973).

John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in such comedy films as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, Summer Rental, Home Alone, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle Buck, as well as more dramatic roles in Only the Lonely and JFK. One of his most renowned onscreen performances was as Del Griffith, the talkative shower-curtain ring salesman in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles. In addition to his work as an actor, Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League from 1991 until his death, and the team won the 1991 Grey Cup under his ownership.

Candy was born on October 31, 1950, in Newmarket, Ontario. The son of Sidney James Candy and Evangeline (née Aker) Candy, he was brought up in a working-class Roman Catholic family. Candy's father was of English and Scottish descent, while his mother was of Polish and Ukrainian descent.. His father, Sidney, died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1955 when John was only five years old. As a child, he lived in a small house on Lesmount Avenue in East York, Ontario.

Candy was originally considered to play Alec Guinness's role in the remake of the 1950 film, Last Holiday, with Carl Reiner directing. Eventually the role was played by Queen Latifah in a loose remake released in 2006.