John Candy
Highest Rated: 93% Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Lowest Rated: 0% Wagons East! (1994)
Birthday: Oct 31, 1950
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canadian comic actor John Candy was geared toward a performing career even while studying for a journalism degree in college. Candy's bulky frame and built-in likability enabled him to secure small roles in Canadian film and TV productions. In the early '70s, Candy joined Canada's Second City Troupe, sharing the spotlight with such potent talent (and subsequent close friends) as Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, and Catherine O'Hara. Second City TV, popularly known as SCTV, entered the Canadian TV airwaves in 1975 and was syndicated to the United States two years later. Candy scored an instant hit with such characters as porcine poseur Johnny LaRue, overly unctuous talk show sidekick William B., and ever-grinning "Lutonian" musician Yosh Shmenge. So popular did Candy become that suddenly many of his obscurer pre-starring Canadian films (It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, The Clown Murders) became hot properties on the video rental circuit. Candy stayed with the various SCTV syndicated and network programs until 1983, earning two Emmys in the process. One of the few genuine nice guys in the realm of comedy, Candy was beloved by both co-workers and fans -- even when this lovability was stretched to the breaking point in substandard films. He scored in supporting roles (Splash [1984], Brewster's Millions [1985]), but such thinnish starring features as Summer Rental (1985) and Who's Harry Crumb (1989) seemed to suggest that Candy couldn't carry a film by himself. Then he starred in Uncle Buck (1989), a disarming comedy about a ne'er-do-well with hidden nobility. Receiving relatively little promotion, Uncle Buck was a surprise hit, and stands today as perhaps Candy's best-ever vehicle after Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Unfortunately, most of his follow-up films were on a par with the disastrous Nothing but Trouble (1990) and Delirious (1992). At the same time, Candy's leading role in Only the Lonely (1991) and his supporting performance in JFK (1992) proved that a major talent was being squandered by the film industry. Candy was as frustrated as his fans, manifesting this frustration in excessive eating, drinking, and smoking. The actor's superlative seriocomic turn as a disgraced Olympic star in Cool Runnings (1993), which Candy also co-produced, seemed to point toward a career upswing. But while filming Wagons East in Mexico, 43-year-old John Candy suffered a heart attack and died in his sleep. Wagons East was released in the summer of 1994, utilizing Candy's existing footage as well as possible; it proved, sadly, an inadequate epitaph for one of film comedy's funniest and most ingratiating stars.
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
| Credit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet | Comic Relief: The Greatest...and The Latest | Actor | — | 2008 |
| 14% | Canadian Bacon | Sheriff Bud Boomer | — | 1995 |
| 0% | Wagons East! | Harlow | — | 1994 |
| 14% | North | Actor | — | 1994 |
| No Score Yet | Hostage for a Day | Yuri Petrovich Executive Producer Director | — | 1994 |
| 74% | Cool Runnings | Irv Blitzer | — | 1993 |
| 35% | Rookie of the Year | Jeff Murdoch | — | 1993 |
| No Score Yet | Boris and Natasha | Kallishak | — | 1992 |
| No Score Yet | Rabbit Ears: Stormalong | Actor | — | 1992 |
| No Score Yet | Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories | Actor | — | 1992 |
| 84% | JFK | Dean Andrews | — | 1991 |
| 44% | Delirious | Jack Gable | — | 1991 |
| 0% | Once Upon a Crime | Augie | — | 1991 |
| 64% | Only the Lonely | Danny | — | 1991 |
| 38% | Career Opportunities | Store Manager | — | 1991 |
| 5% | Nothing but Trouble | Sheriff/Eldona | — | 1991 |
| 69% | The Rescuers Down Under | Wilbur | — | 1990 |
| 65% | Home Alone | Gus Polinski | — | 1990 |
| No Score Yet | Masters of Menace | Beer Truck Driver | — | 1990 |
| No Score Yet | The Rocket Boy | The Hawk | — | 1989 |
| 61% | Uncle Buck | Uncle Buck | — | 1989 |
| 27% | Who's Harry Crumb? | Executive Producer Harry Crumb | — | 1989 |
| 0% | Speed Zone | Charlie Cronyn | — | 1989 |
| 40% | The Great Outdoors | Chet Ripley | — | 1988 |
| 0% | Hot to Trot | Don | — | 1988 |
| 93% | Planes, Trains and Automobiles | Del Griffith | — | 1987 |
| 59% | Spaceballs | Barf | — | 1987 |
| No Score Yet | Quote Alongs: Spaceballs | Actor | — | 1987 |
| 90% | Little Shop of Horrors | Wink Wilkinson | — | 1986 |
| 11% | Armed and Dangerous | Frank Dooley | — | 1986 |
| 58% | Volunteers | Tom Tuttle from Tacoma | — | 1985 |
| 19% | Summer Rental | Jack Chester | — | 1985 |
| 92% | Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird | State Trooper | — | 1985 |
| 35% | Brewster's Millions | Spike Nolan | — | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | The Last Polka | Actor | — | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | Big City Comedy Show | Actor | — | 1985 |
| 90% | Splash | Freddie Bauer | — | 1984 |
| No Score Yet | Going Berserk | John Bourgignon | — | 1983 |
| 93% | National Lampoon's Vacation | Lasky | — | 1983 |
| No Score Yet | It Came from Hollywood | Actor | — | 1982 |
| 60% | Heavy Metal | Desk Sergeant/Dan Den/Robot | — | 1981 |
| 86% | Stripes | Ox | — | 1981 |
| No Score Yet | Second City Insanity | Actor | — | 1981 |
| 84% | The Blues Brothers | Burton Mercer | — | 1980 |
| No Score Yet | Kavik, the Wolf Dog | Pinky | — | 1980 |
| No Score Yet | Double Negative | John | — | 1980 |
| 42% | 1941 | Foley | — | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | Lost and Found | Carpentier | — | 1979 |
| 67% | The Silent Partner | Simonsen | — | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | The Clown Murders | Ollie | — | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | Tunnel Vision (Tunnelvision) | Agent Cooper | — | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | It Seemed Like a Good Idea | Actor | — | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time | Kopek | — | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | Find the Lady | Kopek | — | 1975 |
TV
| Credit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet |
Saturday Night Live 1975 |
Guest Host |
1983 |
| No Score Yet |
SCTV 1976-1981 |
Performer |
QUOTES FROM John Candy CHARACTERS
James Harlow says: We leave at dawn! Noonish!
Sheriff Bud Boomer says: There's not a locked door in the whole country.
Del Griffith says: Well Marie, once again my dear, you where as right as rain. I am, with out a doubt, the biggest pain in the butt that ever came down the pike. I meet someone who's company I really enjoy, and what do I do? I go overboard. I smother the poor soul. I cause him more trouble than he has a right to. God, I got a big mouth. When am I ever gonna wake up? I wish you were here with me right now. But... I guess that's not gonna happen. Not now, anyway.
Del Griffith says: I know you don't I? I'm usually very good with names, but I'll be damned if I haven't forgotten yours.
Neal Page says: You stole my cab.
Del Griffith says: I never stole anything in my life.
Neal Page says: I hailed a cab on Park Avenue this afternoon and, before I could get in it, you stole it.
Del Griffith says: You're the guy who tried to get my cab. I knew I knew you! You scared the bejesus out of me. Come to think of it - it was easy to get a cab during rush hour.
Del Griffith says: Six bucks and my right nut says we're not landing in Chicago.
Neal Page says: Del, what are you still doing here? Why aren't you going home?
Del Griffith says: I... I don't have a home. Marie's been dead for eight years.
Screaming Driver says: Put your window down!
Neal Page says: He wants something.
Del Griffith says: Ah, he's probably drunk.
Screaming Driver says: You're going the wrong way!
Neal Page says: What?!
Del Griffith says: We were robbed!
Neal Page says: Do you think so?
Miles Russell says: Who are you?
Uncle Buck Russell says: I'm your uncle?
Wilbur says: Hey, who killed the music?
Uncle Buck Russell says: (showing his axe to Bug) Here it is, come on over I wanna show it to ya. Maybe later? Okay.
Uncle Buck Russell says: Here it is, come on over I wanna show it to ya. Maybe later? Okay.
Harry Crumb says: A book cover is only skin deep. Sometimes you have to read every word to get the whole picture.
Harry Crumb says: I've been so thoroughly trained that I don't even have to think before I speak.
Del Griffith says: You play with your balls alot.
Del Griffith says: You play with your balls a lot.
Neal Page says: I do not play with my balls
Neal Page says: I do NOT play with my balls.
Del Griffith says: ha ha ha. Larry Bird doesn't do as much ball handling in one night as you do in an hour.
Del Griffith says: Larry Bird doesn't do as much ball-handling in one night as you do in an hour!
Neal Page says: Are you trying to start a fight?
Neal Page says: Are you trying to start a fight?
Del Griffith says: No. I'm simply stating a fact that's all. You fidget with your nuts alot.
Del Griffith says: No. I'm simply stating a fact. That's all. You fidget with your nuts a lot.
Barf the Mawg Co-Pilot says: What the HELL was that?!
Lone Starr Space Bum says: Spaceball One...
Barf the Mawg Co-Pilot says: They've gone to plaid!
Del Griffith says: I knew I knew ya!
Del Griffith says: Oh, man. Oh yeah. My dogs are barking.
Neal Page says: ...Del? Why did you kiss my ear?
Del Griffith says: ...Why are you holding my hand?
Neal Page says: ...Where's your OTHER hand?
Del Griffith says: ...Between two pillows...
Neal Page says: ...Those aren't pillows!
Del Griffith says: Aaaaaahhh!
Uncle Buck Russell says: "Get in your mouse, and get out of here."
Uncle Buck Russell says: Get in your mouse, and get out of here.
Del Griffith says: Neal: [riding in back of pickup truck in freezing cold] What do you think the temperature is? Del: One.
Neal Page says: [riding in back of pickup truck in freezing cold] What do you think the temperature is?
Taxi racer says: One.
Del Griffith says: One.
Del Griffith says: You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right. I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you, but I don't like to hurt people's feelings. Well, you think what you want about me. I'm not changing. I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cause I'm the real article. What you see is what you get.
Freddie Bauer says: What are you looking at? You never saw a guy slept with a fish before? Get back to work.
Freddie Bauer says: You never seen a guy who slept with a fish before? What are you looking at? Get back to work.
Del Griffith says: I haven't been home in years.
Uncle Buck Russell says: "You should see the toast, I couldn't even get it through the door"
Uncle Buck Russell says: You should see the toast. I couldn't even get it through the door.
Del Griffith says: You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right. I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you, but I don't like to hurt people's feelings. Well, you think what you want about me. I'm not changing. I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cause I'm the real article. What you see is what you get.
Neal Page says: He says we're going the wrong way...
Neal Page says: He says we're going the wrong way.
Del Griffith says: Oh, he's drunk. How would he know where we're going?
Del Griffith says: Oh, he's drunk. How would he know where we're going?
Harry Crumb says: Maybe your eyes are- eh- playing tricks on me! *Chuckles*
Harry Crumb says: Maybe your eyes are playing tricks on me! [Chuckles]
Harry Crumb says: (In Salon). Too tight.... too loose... too fluffy!
Harry Crumb says: (In Salon). Too tight, too loose, too fluffy!
Dennis Kimball says: You don't like what you see?
Harry Crumb says: Only I am the judge of that.
Dennis Kimball says: Of course.
Harry Crumb says: Of course!
Harry Crumb says: I am *Dejoul Dilliouje* [sic.].
Harry Crumb says: I am Dejoul Dilliouje.
Suki's Salon Receptionist says: Could you spell that please?
Harry Crumb says: I don't think so. Try it with a "D".
Harry Crumb says: I don't think so. Try it with a 'D'.
Harry Crumb says: My reputation precedes me. Otherwise, I'd be late for all my appointments.
Uncle Buck Russell says: Oh boy, those kids. I haven't seen those kids in a while. Tia's gotta be nine. Nine, maybe ten. Oh boy. And the two new ones. They're uh... Larry and... uh... Larry and, uh... Uh... Betsy. Betsy, uh... Jennifer. Jennifer. Larry and Jennifer. Oh boy.
Uncle Buck Russell says: into the phone] Hey, Bobby we should really get together sometime. I haven't been over at the new house since you moved. By the way, I want to apologize for last year at your old house... about those bushes. I had no idea they all would catch on fire like that. You were right. I should never have put the barbeque grill that close.
Uncle Buck Russell says: [into the phone] Hey, Bobby we should really get together sometime. I haven't been over at the new house since you moved. By the way, I want to apologize for last year at your old house... about those bushes. I had no idea they all would catch on fire like that. You were right. I should never have put the barbeque grill that close.
Neal Page says: where's your other hand?
Neal Page says: Where's your other hand?
Del Griffith says: between two pillows.
Del Griffith says: Between two pillows.
Neal Page says: those aren't pillows!
Neal Page says: Those aren't pillows!
Uncle Buck Russell says: Heres a quarter buy a rat chew that thing off your face!
James Harlow says: I hear it's warm in Canada all year long