John Candy

Background

John Candy was raised in Newmarket, Ontario, and was born in Toronto on October 31, 1950. He was raised in a working-class Catholic family as the son of Sidney James Candy and Evangeline (née Aker) Candy. When he was five years old, his father died of heart disease complications at the age of 35. He attended Toronto’s Neil McNeil Catholic High School. Long before he considered acting, he aspired to be a football player, but a knee injury prohibited him from doing so. Later, he studied journalism at Centennial College before enrolling at McMaster University. He began performing while still in college. In the debut season of the Tarragon Theater in Toronto, he was cast in a small role as a Shriner in “Creeps,” a new Canadian play about cerebral palsy. Following that, he guest-starred in a Canadian children’s television series called “Cucumber,” and made a small, uncredited appearance in “Class of ’44” (1973).

Candy joined the Toronto chapter of “The Second City” in 1972. As a member of the company, he received widespread North American recognition, which grew when he joined the cast of the iconic Toronto-based comic variety show “Second City Television” (SCTV). The show was picked up by NBC in 1981 and rapidly became a fan favorite. It received Emmy Awards for writing in 1981 and 1982. Candy took a break from SCTV in 1979 to pursue a more active film career, starring in “Lost and Found” (1979) and playing a U.S. Army soldier in Steven Spielberg’s big-budget comedy “1941.” On April 28, 1979, he married Rosemary in Toronto, Canada. They had two children, a girl and a boy, named Jennifer Candy and Chris Candy, respectively.

He returned to Canada for roles in the film “The Courage of Kavik” (1980). Candy starred as Dewey Oxberger, a kind, mild-mannered Army recruit, in “Stripes” (1981), one of the year’s most popular pictures. He voiced several characters in the animated feature “Heavy Metal” (1981). He made two appearances on “Saturday Night Live” (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV. He made a cameo appearance in the Canadian film “Going Berserk” (1983). Candy’s breakout performance was in the smash romantic comedy “Splash,” in which he played Tom Hanks’ womanizing brother. He starred in his first comedic hit in a number of years with “Cool Runnings” (1993). He made his directorial debut in the 1994 comedy “Hostage for a Day.” His last appearance was in “Canadian Bacon” (1995).

Candy died on March 4, 1994, after a heart attack, according to a spokesperson. He was 43 at the time. He weighed more than 300 pounds (140 kg) at times in his life due to his obesity and had a tendency to binge eat in response to professional difficulties. After his death, he was honored on various occasions. Ween’s album “Chocolate and Cheese” was dedicated to the late Canadian star’s memory.