John Candy
Holy Cross Cemetery
Rotund actor and comedian
John Candy provided memorable comic moments in dozens of films during his
short career.
Candy appeared in small roles in several films in the early
1970s, including "Hercules in New York" (1970), "Class of '44" (1973),
"The Clown Murders" (1975) and "Tunnel Vision" (1976), before gaining
fame as a writer and performer on the popular "Second City TV" television
series, which was produced in Canada and debuted in 1976. Candy created
dozens of memorable characters on the sketch comedy show, including Johnny
LaRue, Billy Sol Hurok, Mayor Tommy Shanks and Yosh Schmenge. Candy
came to Hollywood in the late 1970s, with supporting roles in "Lost and
Found" (1979), "1941" (1979), "The Blues Brothers" (1980), "Stripes"
(1981), "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983) and "Splash!" (1984).
Candy was less successful in starring roles in the late
1980s, however, including "Summer Rental" (1985), "Armed and Dangerous"
(1986), "The Great Outdoors" (1988) and "Who's Harry Crumb?" (1989). Candy
successfully mixed sentiment with humor in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"
(1987), "Uncle Buck" (1989) and "Only the Lonely" (1991), and he even
appeared in an effective cameo role in Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991). In
"Cool Runnings" (1993), Candy played the coach of the Jamaican bobsled
team, and he finally proved that he was a talented actor as well as a comedian.
While filming "Wagons East" (1994) on location in Mexico,
Candy suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 43.
Candy's crypt contains the inscription, "One heart and one
soul - We miss you dearly."
Candy was born John Franklin Candy on Oct. 31, 1950,
in Toronto, Canada. He died on March 4, 1994, in Durango, Mexico.
1950 - 1994
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