A child was born

64 years ago, on October 31st 1950, a child was born. A child that would make millions of people laugh and move them to tears. Please, keep John Candy in your thoughts and prayers.

Anger about TV-series 'Uncle Buck'

According to an article on the Dutch website nieuws.nl and the original article from deadline.com there's anger about a planned 'Uncle Buck' TV-series.

I agree with what one of the posters on the website said: "John Candy made 'Uncle Buck' as funny as it was. Any attempt to rehash it 25 years later as a series is just not going to work!"

I'd like to add to that. The film 'Uncle Buck' is tasty as lasagna but they heated it, re-heated it and heated it again until it looks and smells like this..... a stinky mess called a new series. Nuff said!

20th anniversary of John Candy's passing

Today marks the 20th anniversary of John Candy's passing. Two decades have gone by without this wonderful actor. It seems unbelievable. Sorely missed by his family, friends and fans. Forever in their hearts. Fortunately there's a wonderful legacy to remember him by.

Please keep John in your thoughts and  prayers, especially today. May God bless his soul.

Citizen Steven

Last year, on May 5, 2013 to be precise, YouTube user Tigrane Minassian uploaded a 23-minute short called 'Citizen Steven'. This star studded video was created in 1987 for Steven Spielberg's 40th birthday by friends John Candy and Dan Aykroyd (who narrates).

This documentary short lovingly recreates the look and feel of 'Citizen Kane'. It’s a short with tongue firmly in cheek and it’s obvious it was for created for private consumption.

John plays Clip Maxwell a reporter / researcher whom, under the guidance of his chief Cal Dushane (Dan Aykroyd), has to unravel the mysteries around Steven Spielberg in order to make a film. He travels around the States to interview people who know him, mostly stars. In fact, a whole gaggle of them.

I found this short to be most pleasant. You can watch it below.



Source: Indiewire.

Remembering John on his 62nd birthday

John would've been 62 today. What would his movie career have been like after 'Wagons East'? First he was set to play the father of Spanky in the 1994 film 'The Little Rascals'. I guess some great movies would have followed after that and maybe a comedy series for television? And how would his private life look like? Would he have conquered his weight? We will never know. But we can still love and cherish the wonderful performances he left on film and try to live in his spirit; as warm human beings.

Remembering Bill Erwin (1914-2010)

Bill Erwin with his dear friend John McCabe in 2001.

A year ago today, actor Bill Erwin passed away at the age of 96. This veteran of movies and television was born William Lindsey Erwin on December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove, Texas, USA. His earliest role was as a soldier in the movie 'You're in the Army Now' from 1941, starring Jimmy Durante and Phil Silvers. His more recent roles were in the tv series 'Monk', 'Everwood', 'My Name is Earl' and 'The King of Queens'.

John Candy fans will remember Bill's role as the man on the plane in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', which role was, unfortunately, trimmed for the theatrical release in 1987. In a television version the complete role survives which is generally known as 'Airplane food' and was featured as a deleted scene on the 2009 Special Edition of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'. Bill is fantastic as the hard-of-hearing elderly man, who is eager to receive yet another piece of food from Del Griffith (John Candy) of which Neal Page (Steve Martin) is too picky to eat.











Bill Erwin with Steve Martin and John Candy.

Kevin Bochynski, friend and fan of Bill Erwin, tells me: "Bill told me how much he enjoyed working with John. He said that John was much more than a comedian; he was a fine actor! And that he was wonderful to work with and was very kind to everyone on the set. Bill knew a good actor when he met one, so when he admired John Candy's acting ability it was a sincere and high compliment. Bill seems to have been a favorite of director John Hughes and appeared in four of Hughes's films". One of Bill's dearest friends was John "Jack" McCabe, the official biographer of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and one of the founders of 'The Sons of the Desert', whom he visited often on Mackinac Island, Michigan where Mr. McCabe lived with his third wife Karen. Mr. and Mrs. Bochynski accompanied Bill on those trips.











Bill Erwin with John McCabe (left) and Kevin Bochynski (right).

I want to thank Kevin Bochynski for his spontaneous cooperation in providing photos and information about Bill Erwin and I would like to end by quoting Kevin: "I'm pleased that you want to mark the one year anniversary of Bill's passing. His 97th birthday would have been Dec. 2. What a remarkable career he had and what an extraordinary man he was!"

Source: Kevin Bochynski's Bill Erwin website.

Christmas greetings

Hohoho! On the last Sunday of the Advent I wish you all a merry and blessed Christmas!

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.

Please keep John in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas.