
In Memory of John Candy
by Ray Koziel

On Friday, March 4, 1994 the entertainment and humor world suffered a
great loss with the passing of John Candy.  Born on Halloween 1950 in
Toronto, Candy got his start in acting doing television commercials.
In 1972 he auditioned for the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago
and performed with that group for a couple of years.  Later he went
back to Toronto to work with the troupe based there.

It was at this point Candy met such personalities as Rick Moranis,
Martin Short, and Dave Thomas who took their comedy from the stage to
the television in the show "SCTV" - Canada's version of "Saturday
Night Live".  While with "SCTV," Candy was able to create some of his
well know personalities and set the foundation for his move to the
big screen.

Candy's Hollywood debut came with the film _1941_.  After some other 
minor roles, Candy got his break with the movie _Splash_ in which he
played Tom Hanks' brother.  He followed with other supporting roles
with Bill Murray, Steve Martin, and Dan Aykroyd (_Stripes_, _Trains,
Planes, and Automobiles_, and _The Great Outdoors_ respectively).

Proving himself as a supporting actor, Candy went on to some more
challenging tasks.  He took the lead roles in such films as _Who Is 
Harry Crumb?_, _Uncle Buck_, _Only the Lonely_, and _Delirious_.
Candy was working on a new film in Mexico titled _Wagons East_ when
he died of a heart attack at age 43.

Candy falls in the genre of comedians that contains other greats such
as Jackie Gleason, John Goodman, and Oliver Hardy.  Although quite
rotund, each man had a heart and sense of humor of equal if not
greater proportions than his stomach.  And despite their large size
they had a certain grace and flair about whatever they did.  In every
role Candy played, he was able to tap the human side of that
character and play it to the fullest.  To John Candy, thank you for
making life a little sweeter!                                   {RAH}

