PrimeTime 1989 - Inside Entertainment

Little news flashes from PrimeTime's 'Inside Entertainment' page. The paragraph on John is about 'Uncle Buck' revitalizing his career and his future projects of which 'On The Air' fell through.

Below John's photo is Bette Midler's. Is this a coincidence or what? Around the time of this article Bette demanded that John would do an audition for the role of her boyfriend Ed Munn in the film 'Stella' (1990). John was furious about this and he refused to do an audition. After that, the role went to John Goodman. For further reading on this subject I recommend reading Martin Knelman's biography on John Candy, 'Laughing on the Outside'.

Empire October 1991 - Part II (Review)

After reading this review on 'Only the Lonely' by Angie Errigo I come to the conclusion that Mrs. Errigo only reviewed this movie on base of it's story. There's no word on the fine acting of the cast.

Please don't let this review fool you, 'Only the Lonely' is a heartwarming romantic comedy and is much better than a lot of other romantic "comedies". This movie is not a cliché, it's reality. It's about real feelings and is inspired by people who were in the same situation. Therefore, the movie can't be uninspired. Unless you think life is a cliché itself.

Why is John's character referred to as a slob in this review? He's a nice and decent guy, who works as a cop. O, wait a minute... is it because he's heavy? Now that's not sweet, but it is simple and uninspired....

Empire October 1991 - Part I (Interview)

An interview by Frank Sanello with John about his career and his new film 'Only the Lonely' in the popular British film magazine 'Empire'.

I'd like to make some remarks on three passages in this interview :

1. "So she'd (Ally Sheedy) have no qualms about dating the big man (John) in real life? "Er, sure" "says Sheedy diplomatically." This is very suggestive, as if Ally didn't give an honest answer and as if no woman could be attracted by John.

2. "The Canadian-born actor could not, however draw on his own real-life experience." This is only partially true. It's true that John didn't stay with his mother till he was 38 but he did take the place of his father. He was making the decisions for his mother and older brother. You can read more about that in Martin Knelman's excellent John Candy biography: 'Laughing on the Outside'.

3. "....leading to initially disappointing leading man performances in Summer Rental and The Great Outdoors." I guess the interviewer speaks in box office terms, because John's performances itselves in 'Summer Rental' and 'The Great Outdoors' aren't disappointing at all. Especially 'Summer Rental' is a great vehicle for John.

In conclusion some remarks on the brief filmography:

Faceoff (1977), seems to me that should be 'Face-Off' from 1971, was deleted some time ago from John's IMDB listing and when I mentioned John to Canadian actor Art Hindle, who had a part in Face-Off, he told me he worked with him in the movie 'Speed Zone'. Art didn't mention 'Face-Off'. So it's difficult to determine if John has a part in this movie. If so, it would take the place of 'Class of '44' (1973) as John's movie debut.

Strange Brew (1983). This movie stars John's SCTV colleagues Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as the McKenzie Brothers. As far as I know, John doesn't have a part in this picture.

'One Wild Night' (1990) is an alternative title for 'Career Opportunities', most probably for the UK. John has a very nice cameo in this John Hughes movie. Click the article to read it in full size.

People Weekly 1981

About two weeks after the premiere of 'Stripes', an interview Cutler Durkee had with John was printed in the magazine People Weekly, Vol. 16 - No. 2, July 13, 1981.

Amongst other things John tells about 'SCTV' and loosing weight and he has a bone to pick with a critic who referred to him as "the elephant".

Also featured are two very cute photos of John with his daughter Jennifer (17 months old) and his dog Keema who doesn't seem to be keen on becoming wet! Click on the thumbnails below to read the full article.

In memoriam: Evangeline Candy

Evangeline Aker Candy, pictured here with sons Jim and John and granddaughter Jennifer, passed away two months ago (January 25th) in Toronto East General Hospital. Her sister Fran Aker, with whom she had been living for many years, and her son Jim were at her side in her final days.

She also leaves behind her brother Ken Aker and his wife Barbara, her daughter-in-law Rose Hobor Candy and her grandchildren from John's marriage to Rose: Jennifer and Christopher. "Her kind spirit and generous smile will be missed by all," reads a statement from her family.

Funeral services were held on January 28th at St. Maria Goretti Roman Catholic Church and Evangeline was laid to rest at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetary. Source: http://popgoesthenews.com/.

May God bless her soul.

Big City Comedy

In the summer of 1980, 13 episodes of 'Big City Comedy' were produced. John hosted these half hour shows, which had a weekly guest star and started airing that fall. 'SCTV' was off the air at that time and John had no intention to come back if the show would return. This was due to a quarrel with producer Andrew Alexander over royalty payments. Although 'Big City Comedy' wasn't bad, the ratings weren't high so the show stopped after its first season. 'SCTV' got back into production in that same summer and John returned soon thereafter. For further reading about this subject I recommend the book 'Laughing on the Outside' by Martin Knelman.

The Sept. 27-Oct. 3 (1980) volume of TV Guide includes an article about Margaret Trudeau's career and her guest appearances on 'Big City Comedy'. According to the article, she appeared briefly in the first episode and in an entire episode that was aired October, 17. Read the full article below. Click the thumbnails to open each page in a big size.

Fifteen years ago...

Fifteen years ago I became a fan of John Candy. In early 1994 I bought 'The Great Outdoors' on video and on April 8, 1994 I bought 'Once Upon A Crime'. I liked the movies but I even more liked the guy who played Chet Ripley and Augie Morosco! So in the next two months I bought more of his films like 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', 'Summer Rental' and 'Delirious'. There was something about him. He had a warmth that I also found with the famous comedy duo Laurel & Hardy.

I hadn't heard about John's passing and when the owner of the videoshop told me he had heard something of the kind I wouldn't believe it. "He's mistaken with someone else, with an older actor", I thought. Now I know, that this is what I wanted to believe. But in September of the same year, I was finally confrontated with the fact that John really was no longer amongst us. In 'Blotto's Bulletin', a Dutch Laurel & Hardy newspaper, I read that in the new 'Our Gang' film the role of Spanky's father would've been played by John Candy who passed away suddenly and therefore the role was cut from the scenario. I felt very upset. In fact, I felt upset for weeks.

Today it is fifteen years ago that John's funeral service took place at St. Martin of Tours Church in Los Angeles. And today I'm making this blog as a tribute to him, to the man who is still loved by so many people of all ages and from all over the world. John, thanks for all the laughter.