John Candy, Christmas correspondent

On Dec. 2, 1976 John Candy appeared as Christmas correspondent on the Canadian television program '90 Minutes Live'. We see John at the shopping mall Brentwood Plaza in Burnaby, B. C. where he does a gift wrapping contest with shoppers Samuel Kowalsek, Marilyn Lewyk and Karen Martelli.

But given the prize money at stake John decides that wrapping boxes is too easy and supplies the contestants with more challenging objects. The people in the mall witnissing all this really have a great time as does the host of the show, Peter Gzowski, who is in the studio. Especially note John's reactions to those funny kids starting to get a little bit annoying.

A clip from this show can be seen through this link and comes from the website CBC Digital Archives. John appears at least two times more live from Brentwood Plaza but this clip only covers the gift wrapping contest.

Nevertheless, I was thrilled to have a new find. It's always great to see John in something that was previously unseen.

Source screenshot: The Runagates Club.

Merry Christmas

Hi! I wish all visitors of this blog a merry and blessed Christmas and a good, prosperous 2011. During the holidays I would recommend you watch 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' (if you didn't already during Thanksgiving), 'Christmas with SCTV' (DVD), 'Only the Lonely', 'Home Alone', or 'Kavik The Wolf Dog'. 'The Unexpected' from 1981, the rather grim episode of the series 'Tales of the Klondike', is a possibility too.

In the new year I hope to be able to post more interesting stuff about John than I did this year. I still have many wonderful articles and photos. So please, stay tuned!

Source screenshot: IGN.com.

60th anniversary of John's birth

Ofcourse his family and friends and we as his fans would've loved to see John reach the age of 60. Unfortunately, this is not the case. John lives on in people's hearts and his legacy will bring joy to many generations to come. For me, the best tribute is watching one of his movies today. May John smile down from heaven every time his work is shown.

Interview in 'Goal' - December 1985

Not long after his succesful lead role in 'Summer Rental', John had an interview with Stu Hackel for the hockey magazine 'Goal'. John tells about his love for the Maple Leafs, his favorite players and his own hockey career when he played in the Metro Toronto Hockey League.

John also mentions he worked as an extra on the movie 'Face-off' from 1971, in which the Maple Leafs also appear. This would mean that it would take the place of 'Class of '44' as John's movie debut, as mentioned in one the older posts on this blog. After I've seen the movie, I'll post comments about it on this blog.

Click the thumbnails below to read this very nice interview.












Copyright: 1985 Professional Sports Publications, Goal - The National Hockey League Magazine, December 1985.

John Candy (1950-1994)

It seems unbelievable, but today it's 16 years ago that John left us. Still, fans worldwide can't get enough of this comic genius. To this day and age, previously unseen footage turns up (mostly on YouTube nowadays), more and more printed articles/interviews are discovered etc. There's a lot to explore about the big man and his career.

But the most important is the great joy that John still brings to millions of people through his immortal characterizations on television and film. John, you will never be forgotten. Thanks for leaving us such a great legacy.