John Candy dies
The larger-than-life comedic star John Candy dies suddenly of a heart attack on this day in 1994 at the age of 43.At the time of his death he was living near Durango Mexico while filming Wagons East a Western comedy co-starring the comedian Richard Lewis.Born in 1950 Candys first professional acting work was in childrens theater in his native Canada.In 1972 he was accepted into the prestigious Second City comedy troupe in Toronto where he would become a regular writer and performer for the groups television program SCTV alongside other rising comics like Eugene Levy (later Candys co-star in Splash) and Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters).
When SCTV moved to network television in 1981 Candy moved with it that year and the next he won Emmy Awards for writing for the show.Candys recurring (and most famous) SCTV persona was Yosh Shmenge a clarinet player in a polka band.He would reprise the character in a mock documentary The Last Polka on HBO in 1985 and would also play a polka musician in the smash hit Home Alone (1990).Candy made his big break into movies with Splash (1984) in which he stole most of his scenes as the idle high-living brother of the main character played by Tom Hanks.
The film directed by Ron Howard was a smash hit jump-starting the careers of Candy Hanks Darryl Hannah and Levy.In one particularly memorable scene Candy throws himself with abandon around a racquetball court using his hefty frame to full comedic effect.Six-foot-three and weighing as much as 275 pounds he struggled with dieting over the years but his heft undoubtedly contributed to his success as a comic performer.After Splash Candy was in high demand as a lovable oaf.
He starred in a number of box-office hits over the next 10 years including Spaceballs (1987) and collaborations with the writer producer and director John Hughes in Planes Trains and Automobiles (1987) The Great Outdoors (1988) and Uncle Buck (1989).A devoted sports fan and co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League he was also part owner of House of Blues with the actors Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi.In 1993 Candy won praise for his role as the sensitive coach of an unlikely Jamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings (1993).At the time of his death Candy had just completed his directorial debut the Fox Television movie comedy Hostage for a Day.
He had performed two-thirds of his scenes in Wagons East which was finished after the filmmakers insurance company paid a reported 15 million settlement.Another recently wrapped movie Canadian Bacon was released in 1995.Candy was survived by his wife Rosemary and their two children Jennifer and Christopher.
