RIP - Uncle Buck!

John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor.

He Would Have Been 57!

Candy rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Canada branch of The Second City, often playing lovable losers and characters with bad luck but big hearts. While his film roles were mostly comedic, such as those in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Uncle Buck, he had dramatic roles in movies such as Only the Lonely, Cool Runnings and JFK.

Candy, the younger of two sons, was born in Newmarket, Ontario, to Sidney James Candy and Evangeline Aker. He was raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father died quite young from a heart attack. He attended the Neil McNeil Catholic High School, an all-boys, public, Catholic school in Toronto, where he played football.

Candy’s first movie role was in the 1973 film Class of ‘44, in which he made a small uncredited appearance. He then appeared in several other low-budget films in the 1970s. In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski’s short-lived, late-night television talk show, Ninety Minutes Live. That same year, 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.

By 1980, he began a more active film career having appeared as a soldier in Steven Spielberg’s big-budget comedy 1941 and had a supporting role as a jovial parole officer in The Blues Brothers. A year later, Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxberger in 1981’s Stripes, one of the most successful films of the year. In the next two years, Candy did a small cameo in Harold Ramis’ National Lampoon’s Vacation, appeared on Saturday Night Live twice (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV.

In 1983, Candy was approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (completed and released 1984), but ultimately did not get the role due to his conflicting ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to Rick Moranis. (However, Candy was one of the many celebrities who appeared chanting “Ghostbusters” in Ray Parker, Jr.’s hit single for the movie). In 1984, Candy played Tom Hanks’ womanizing brother in the hit romantic comedy Splash, considered to be his breakout role.

Throughout the latter half of the 1980s, Candy worked often taking roles in substandard films (even performing the voice of a talking horse in the Bobcat Goldthwait comedy Hot to Trot) just to keep working. Although Candy continued to play supporting roles in films like Spaceballs, he was awarded the opportunity to headline or co-star in such successful comedy films as Planes, Trains & Automobiles (often considered his best performance), Brewster’s Millions, The Great Outdoors, Who’s Harry Crumb?, Armed and Dangerous and Uncle Buck, my all time personal favorite.

His Death:

Candy died in his sleep on March 4, 1994 while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!. He was 43 years old. An autopsy revealed that he had suffered a massive heart attack resulting from the complete blockage of one of his coronary arteries.

At the time of his death, Candy had been making a concerted effort to improve his health; he had recently quit smoking and was losing weight. As his family had a history of heart disease, he had been warned by doctors several times before to reduce his weight but had previously refused, claiming that his portly appearance helped him secure film roles[citation needed]. In spite of this assertion, however, there is public evidence to indicate that Candy was highly self-conscious about his weight all his life. A few years before his death, he canceled a scheduled appearance hosting a CBC awards show because the ceremony’s advertising campaign jokingly touted him as “the biggest star in Canada”. (Leslie Nielsen hosted the show instead.)

Candy is survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hobor), whom he married in 1979, and their two children, Jennifer and Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Martin of Tours Church. Candy is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for John Candy produced by his former improv troupe The Second City was broadcast live on CHCH TV (Hamilton, Ontario) and transmitted via satellite to eight stations across Canada.

Other October 31st Birthdays:

Dan Rather-TV Anchor -75
Sally Kirkland-Actress -63
Deidre Hall-Actress -60
Rob Schneider-Actor/Comedian -44
Vanilla Ice-Rapper -39
Jane Pauley-TV Anchor -57