Daily BirthdaysJohn Candy
Candy's career began in 1972, joining Chicago's famed Second City. Two years later, along with Joe Flaherty, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy and Rosemary Radcliffe, he formed the first Canadian Second City cast in Toronto. The enormous popularity of Second City led to the acclaimed series SCTV, which was filmed in Edmonton and Toronto and featured Candy, Flaherty, Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis. The show ran from 1976 to 1983 and was considered by many critics to be one of the best programs of the decade. In 1979, Candy shared an ACTRA Award for Best Performance in Television and received a Best Writer nomination. He achieved the same recognition in 1982 and won Emmy Awards in 1982 and 1983 for outstanding writing.
In 1984, Candy and Eugene Levy wrote and performed The Last Polka, an hour-long HBO comedy special documenting the careers of Yosh and Stan Schmenge, the polka-loving brothers from Leutonia. The Last Polka received ACE Award nominations for Best Special and Best Performances in a Variety Special for Candy and Levy.
After co-starring in numerous Canadian features including Silent Partner with Christopher Plummer and Elliot Gould, Candy began a string of successful roles in such U.S. films as Steven Spielberg's 1941, The Blues Brothers with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and Stripes with Bill Murray. His successful association with writer/producer/director John Hughes resulted in such box-office hits as National Lampoon's Vacation with Chevy Chase, The Great Outdoors with Dan Aykroyd, Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin, Uncle Buck with Amy Madigan, and Home Alone.
Candy's forty-plus films include Splash, Brewster's Millions, Volunteers, Little Shop of Horrors, Oliver Stone's J.F.K. and Cool Runnings.
The actor made his directorial debut with Hostage For A Day for the Fox Network. Also for television, he starred in Camp Candy, an animated television series syndicated worldwide.
John Candy died while working on the film Wagons East after finishing CANADIAN BACON.
John Candy Facts
| Birth Name | John Franklin Candy |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Birthday | October 31, 1950 |
| Sign | Scorpio |
| Birthplace | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Date of death | March 4, 1994 (Durango, Mexico, age 43) |
| Height | 6' 2" (1m88) |