Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Rosemary Margaret Hobor (28 April 1979 - 4 March 1994) ( his death) ( 2 children)

Trade Mark (7)



Often appeared in films written and/or directed by John Hughes

Often worked in a dance in his movies (Spaceballs, The Great Outdoors, even The Rescuers Down Under)



Often played good-hearted slobs



His large girth



His role as Uncle Buck



Brown eyes



Canadian accent



Trivia (46)



The musical group Ween dedicated their 1994 LP, "Chocolate And Cheese", to him.

Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA in the Mausoleum, Room 7, Block 1.



He was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.





He died while filming Wagons East! (1994) in Mexico.

He was part of the group Northern Lights, which sang the song "Tears Are Not Enough" which was on the "We Are The World" album.





He has a cameo in Ray Parker Jr. 's "Ghostbusters" music video.



He attended Holy Cross Catholic School up to grade 8 which was the same school attended by actress Natalie Higashi , several years later.

Graduated Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School.



He was born in East York (which is a suburb of Toronto) and he attended high school in Scarborough (another suburb of Toronto).



He stayed in the notorious Whidden Hall residence during his years at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.



His father, Sidney, died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1955 when John was only five years old.



Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 87-88. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387



Weighed over 300 pounds for most of his life.





Turned down the role of Louis Tully in Ghostbusters - Die Geisterjäger (1984). It went to Rick Moranis . Candy, did however, appear in Ray Parker Jr. 's music video "Ghost Busters", celebrating the soundtrack of the film, along with other individuals who either refused to be in or failed to make the final cut for casting of the film.



According to Catherine O'Hara , just before going to Mexico Candy talked to her on the phone and told her that he feared going to Mexico because he felt that "something bad is going to happen there".



Sat in the front row for Super Bowl XXIII (49ers vs. Bengals). According to legend, right before the 49ers game-winning drive, quarterback Joe Montana pointed toward the stands and said to tackle Harris Barton , "Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?".



Was supposed to host Saturday Night Live (1975) with Eugene Levy in 1985 (he, Levy and Billy Crystal did a promo for it on SNL the week before it was supposed to happen), but that episode never happened, due to a writer's strike shortly after the promo was aired.



Pictured on one of four 51¢ Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring "Canadians in Hollywood", issued 22 May 2006. Others honored in this set are Fay Wray Lorne Greene , and Mary Pickford



Was a good friend of Wayne Gretzky and was co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with him.

Was a fan of Doctor Who.





Was a part-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky . The group signed Raghib Ismail on the first day of the 1991 NFL draft, where he was projected the #1 overall pick.



In a 2004 interview Steve Martin stated that at the time of John's death Steve was going through a divorce, so he briefly moved in with John's widow and children to help them out through this tough time and to get away from his soon to be ex-wife.



His house near Newmarket, Ontario, Canada was just several blocks from the residence of fellow Canadian comedian Jim Carrey

Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998 (charter member).





His original A&E Biography (1987) was actually a televised tribute to John Candy, called "A Tribute to John Candy", that was aired shortly after his death.

He was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. He officially quit smoking cigarettes a few months before he passed away.



His production company was "Frostbacks Productions".





According to Eugene Levy , John Candy was so beloved that when the procession was heading to the cemetery where John was interred, he looked over and saw that there was no traffic on the 405 Freeway and that police officers were stationed at the on-ramps holding traffic. When he asked a police officer what was going on, he was informed that the decision to stop traffic was up to the LAPD. Further, the only other times they stopped traffic was for Presidential motorcades and when the Pope visited Los Angeles.

John's mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. John's maternal grandparents, Frank Michael Aker and Jozefa Stefaniuk, were both immigrants from Eastern Europe.



Lived in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death.





Repeatedly turned down offers to play Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle in several proposed biopics, mainly since he stated he simply wasn't interested in playing him.

When John Candy died one of his obituaries read hes been in more turkeys than stuffing mix but everybody loved him anyway!.



The Canadian screen awards (the combination of the Canadian Oscars and Emmy) is now called the Candy in honour of him.





Did the role of Gus Polinski in Kevin - Allein zu Haus (1990) for free.

His performance as Dean Andrews in JFK (1991) is believed by many critics to be his best work.



During his screen-time as Dean Andrews in JFK (1991), the nervous sweat seen on his face is real, as the thought of acting in a dramatic film opposite such heavyweight actors as Donald Sutherland and Gary Oldman made him very scared.



Personal Quotes (9)

I think I may have become an actor to hide from myself. You can escape into a character.





[on Ghostbusters - Die Geisterjäger (1984)] Harold [Ramis] had called and things just didn't go well with the negotiations on it. We didn't see eye to eye on certain things and the rest is history. But Rick [Moranis] did a great job with it.



[on Wer ist Harry Crumb? (1989)] It offered me a lot of different characters to play and it was a lot of fun.



[on Allein mit Onkel Buck (1989)] In the movie, Uncle Buck doesn't talk down to these kids. And I think that's why they like him. He treats them as an equal.



I've been taking shots at Tri- Star for their non-campaign of Wer ist Harry Crumb? (1989). I mean, good God, there's a team for ya. They sunk the picture and all got promotions for it.



[on Belushi - Wired (1989)] I have no desire to see that. I don't see the need. I didn't see the need for the book. I don't see the need for the movie. Let it alone. Why? Why do we have to drag that out? Its such dirty laundry.



[on reading the script of Ein Ticket für zwei (1987) for the first time] I just cried with laughter when I read it. Its like it was written with me in mind, which makes a big difference. I could see just see the movie in my mind.

Salary (5)