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Background[]
The late John Candy ( b. 31 October 1950 - d. 4 March 1994 ) was a Canadian comedian and actor. He appeared in live action television and cinematic roles; and voice acting performances.
Candy was famous for his large girth that was a frequent part of his on-screen personas as lovable overweight buffoons. He was considered one of Canada's greatest comedians and character actors who was beloved by his many fans and highly respected by his fellow actors and colleagues.
Candy is well known for his roles in a number of comedy films including Stripes; Splash; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; Spaceballs; Uncle Buck; and Cool Runnings but is probably best known for his brief but memorable cameo appearance in the smash comedy hit Home Alone as the kindly polka musician but terribly forgetful Gus Polinski.
Biography[]
Personal Life[]
Filmography[]
- Police Surgeon (1972) 1 episode
- Cucumber (1972)
- Class of '44 (1973)
- The ABC Afternoon Playbreak (1974) 1 episode
- Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (1974)
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975)
- Coming Up Rosie (1975)
- Tunnel Vision (1976)
- 90 Minutes Live (1976)
- The Clown Murders (1976)
- Find the Lady (1976)
- The David Steinberg Show (1976-77) 6 episodes
- SCTV (1976-79) 50 episodes
- King of Kensington (1977) 1 episode
- Lost and Found (1979)
- 1941 (1979)
- The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog (1980)
- The Blues Brothers (1980)
- Tales of the Klondike (1981)
- Stripes (1981)
- Heavy Metal (1981)
- Saturday Night Live (1981) 1 episode
- Double Negative (1981)
- SCTV Network (1981-83) series regular
- National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
- Going Berserk (1983)
- SCTV Channel (1983) 1 episode
- The New Show (1984) 5 episodes
- Splash (1984)
- The Last Polka (1985)
- Brewster's Millions (1985)
- Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird (1985)
- Summer Rental (1985)
- Volunteers (1985)
- The Canadian Conspiracy (1985)
- Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas (1985)
- Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1986)
- Armed and Dangerous (1986)
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
- Really Weird Tales (1987)
- Spaceballs (1987)
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
- She's Having a Baby (1988)
- The Great Outdoors (1988)
- Hot to Trot (1988)
- Sesame Street, Special (1988)
- Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)
- Cannonball Fever (1989)
- Uncle Buck (1989)
- The Rocket Boy (1989)
- The Dave Thomas Comedy Show (1990) 1 episode
- Masters of Menace (1990)
- Seriously... Phil Collins (1990)
- Home Alone (1990)
- The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
- Nothing But Trouble (1991)
- Career Opportunities (1991)
- Only the Lonely (1991)
- Delirious (1991)
- JFK (1991)
- Once Upon a Crime... (1992)
- Boris and Natasha (1992)
- Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories (1992) 1 episode
- Rookie of the Year (1993)
- Cool Runnings (1993)
- Hostage for a Day (1994)
- Wagons East (1994)
- Canadian Bacon (1995)
Trivia[]
- Did the role of Gus Polinski in Home Alone for free.
- Pictured on one of four 51¢ Canadian commemorative postage stamps, honoring "Canadians in Hollywood", issued May 22, 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 considered by many to be one of the most genuinely nice people in show business.
- Many of his friends state that he never had anything bad to say about anyone.
- Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998.
- The Canadian Screen Awards is now called the Candy in honor of him.
Quotes[]
- "I think I may have become an actor to hide from myself. You can escape into a character."