John Franklin Candy was born on the 31st October 1950, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada and was one of the Canada’s funniest comedians and best actors, widely known for his roles, mostly in American movies, including “Splash” (1984), “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987), “Spaceballs” (1987), “Uncle Buck” (1989), “Home Alone” (1990) and “JFK” (1991), As well he was a member of the Second City comedy troupe. John Candy died of a heart attack in his sleep on the 4th March 1994, while filming “Wagons East!” in Durango City, Mexico.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth he accumulated in his life? How rich John Candy was? According to sources, John Candy’s net worth was estimated at $15 million. It was accumulated throughout his TV and movie career in which he appeared in over 40 movies.
John Candy was brought-up by his mother Evangeline, after his father Sidney James Candy died of a heart attack when John was only five years old. John was of a Canadian ancestry but also of part Ukrainian and Polish descent through his mother. John Candy was educated in Catholic schools before starting Centennial Community College in Toronto. During his high school years, apart from playing football and hockey, he also discovered his passion for acting. He enrolled at McMaster University where he studied acting and journalism, but dropped out to pursue an acting career. Although he appeared in numerous productions, his career didn’t officially begin until 1972 when he appeared in the “Police Surgeon” TV series. His big screen debut came in 1973 with the movie “Class of ‘44”, but that role went uncredited. During the 1970s, John Candy appeared in several low-budget movies such as “The Silent Partner”, a bank robbery thriller alongside Christopher Plummer and Elliott Gould. All these ventures provided the basis for John Candy’s net worth.
His career breakthrough came in 1976, when John Candy became a member of Toronto’s branch of the comedy troupe – Second City, earning huge nationwide popularity. Afterwards, John was cast as a regular member of the comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). These engagements, besides bringing him two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1981 and 1982, certainly added a significant sum to John Candy’s net worth.
After leaving SCTV in 1983, he focused on his movie career, and in 1984 came one of his most famous roles, in Ron Howard’s comedy – “Splash”, in which he played opposite Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. More successful films followed, of which the most famous besides those mentioned are “The Blues Brothers” (1980) and “The Great Outdoors” (1988).
After his death, John Candy was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2006, Canada Post honored him with a postage stamp. Also, Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto opened The John Candy Visual Arts Studio as he was one of the school’s most famous alumni.
John Candy, beside comedy legacy and abundant portfolio with over 40 movies, left behind his wife Rosemary Margaret Hobor and their two children.
| Full Name | John Candy |
| Net Worth | $15 Million |
| Date Of Birth | 31st October 1950, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 4th March 1994, Durango City, Mexico |
| Place Of Birth | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 6' 2" (1.88 m) |
| Profession | Actor, Writer, Producer |
| Education | McMaster University, Centennial College, Neil McNeil High School |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse | Rosemary Margaret Hobor |
| Children | Jennifer Candy, Christopher Candy |
| Parents | Evangeline Candy, Sidney James Candy |
| Siblings | Jim Candy, Nicky Candy |
| Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Candy/54434413766 |
| IMDB | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001006 |
| Awards | Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program (1981, 1982) |
| Nominations | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| Movies | Splash (1984), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Spaceballs (1987), Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), JFK (1991), Canadian Bacon (1995) |
| TV Shows | Second City Television (SCTV) |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Did the role of Gus Polinski in Home Alone (1990) for free. |
| 2 | The Canadian screen awards (the combination of the Canadian Oscars and Emmy) is now called the Candy in honour of him. |
| 3 | When John Candy died one of his obituaries read hes been in more turkeys than stuffing mix but everybody loved him anyway!. |
| 4 | Repeatedly turned down offers to play Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle in several proposed biopics, mainly since he stated he simply wasn't interested in playing him. |
| 5 | Lived in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death. |
| 6 | John's mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. John's maternal grandparents, Frank Michael Aker and Jozefa Stefaniuk, were both immigrants from Eastern Europe. |
| 7 | According to Eugene Levy, John Candy was so beloved that when the procession was heading to the cemetery where John was interred, he looked over and saw that there was no traffic on the 405 Freeway and that police officers were stationed at the on-ramps holding traffic. When he asked a police officer what was going on, he was informed that the decision to stop traffic was up to the LAPD. Further, the only other times they stopped traffic was for Presidential motorcades and when the Pope visited Los Angeles. |
| 8 | His production company was "Frostbacks Productions". |
| 9 | He was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. He officially quit smoking cigarettes a few months before he passed away. |
| 10 | His original A&E Biography (1987) was actually a televised tribute to John Candy, called "A Tribute to John Candy", that was aired shortly after his death. |
| 11 | Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998 (charter member). |
| 12 | In attendance at his funeral were Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Mariel Hemingway, Rhea Perlman, Ed Harris, Catherine O'Hara and Dan Aykroyd (who delivered the eulogy). |
| 13 | He turned down Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984) because he felt his good friend Rick Moranis was better suited for the parts. |
| 14 | Many of his friends state that he never had anything bad to say about anyone. |
| 15 | His house near Newmarket, Ontario, Canada was just several blocks from the residence of fellow Canadian comedian Jim Carrey. |
| 16 | In a 2004 interview Steve Martin stated that at the time of John's death Steve was going through a divorce, so he briefly moved in with John's widow and daughters to help them out through this tough time and to get away from his soon to be ex-wife. |
| 17 | Was a part-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky. The group signed Raghib Ismail on the first day of the 1991 NFL draft, where he was projected the #1 overall pick. |
| 18 | Was a fan of Doctor Who. |
| 19 | He played a member of law enforcement in at least 10 movies; It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975), The Clown Murders (1976), Find the Lady (1976), The Blues Brothers (1980), Heavy Metal (1981), Follow That Bird (1985), Armed and Dangerous (1986) (although his character was a security guard for most of the film, he was wrongfully terminated as a police officer in the beginning of the movie), Only the Lonely (1991), Nothing But Trouble (1991), Canadian Bacon (1995). This does not include National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), in which he played a rent-a-cop or Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), in which he played a private investigator. |
| 20 | Was considered by many to be one of the most genuinely nice people in Hollywood/Show Business. |
| 21 | Was a good friend of Wayne Gretzky and was co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with him. |
| 22 | Pictured on one of four 51¢ Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring "Canadians in Hollywood", issued 22 May 2006. Others honored in this set are Fay Wray, Lorne Greene, and Mary Pickford. |
| 23 | Was supposed to host Saturday Night Live (1975) with Eugene Levy in 1985 (he, Levy and Billy Crystal did a promo for it on SNL the week before it was supposed to happen), but that episode never happened, due to a writer's strike shortly after the promo was aired. |
| 24 | Sat in the front row for Super Bowl XXIII (49ers vs. Bengals). According to legend, right before the 49ers game-winning drive, quarterback Joe Montana pointed toward the stands and said to tackle Harris Barton, "Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?". |
| 25 | Has appeared in more John Hughes movies than any other actor, starring or doing cameos in seven of them: National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) co-starring Steve Martin, The Great Outdoors (1988) co-starring Dan Aykroyd, and appears in a cameo in She's Having a Baby (1988). Stars in Uncle Buck (1989), co-starring a young Macaulay Culkin. Has a brief cameo in Career Opportunities (1991) and a bit part alongside SCTV (1976) alumni and best friend Catherine O'Hara in Home Alone (1990) also starring Macaulay Culkin. |
| 26 | According to Maureen O'Hara, just before going to Mexico Candy talked to her on the phone and told her that he feared going to Mexico because he felt that "something bad is going to happen there". |
| 27 | Turned down the role of Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (1984). It went to Rick Moranis. Candy, did however, appear in Ray Parker Jr.'s music video "Ghost Busters", celebrating the soundtrack of the film, along with other individuals who either refused to be in or failed to make the final cut for casting of the film. |
| 28 | Weighed over 300 pounds for most of his life. |
| 29 | Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 87-88. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 |
| 30 | His father, Sidney, died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1955 when John was only five years old. |
| 31 | He stayed in the notorious Whidden Hall residence during his years at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. |
| 32 | At the time of his death, he had appeared in ten movies with Saturday Night Live (1975) alumni, more than any other non-SNL actor. That record has since been surpassed by Nick Swardson, who (as of 2016) has appeared in 18 movies with SNL alumni, including: Almost Famous (2000), Grandma's Boy (2006), The Benchwarmers (2006), Reno 911!: Miami (2007), Blades of Glory (2007), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Bedtime Stories (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011), Jack and Jill (2011), That's My Boy (2012), A Haunted House (2013), Grown Ups 2 (2013), Pixels (2015), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), Hell and Back (2015), The Ridiculous 6 (2015), and The Do-Over (2016). |
| 33 | Turned down repeated offers to join Saturday Night Live (1975), citing devotion to his fellow SCTV (1976) cast members. |
| 34 | He was born in East York (which is a suburb of Toronto) and he attended high school in Scarborough (another suburb of Toronto). |
| 35 | Graduated Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School. |
| 36 | He attended Holy Cross Catholic School up to grade 8 which was the same school attended by actress Natalie Higashi, several years later. |
| 37 | Father of Jennifer Candy and Chris Candy. |
| 38 | He has a cameo in Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" music video. |
| 39 | He was part of the group Northern Lights, which sang the song "Tears Are Not Enough" which was on the "We Are The World" album. |
| 40 | He died while filming Wagons East (1994) in Mexico. |
| 41 | He was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. |
| 42 | Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA in the Mausoleum, Room 7, Block 1. |
| 43 | The musical group Ween dedicated their 1994 LP, "Chocolate And Cheese", to him. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Summer Rental | 1985 | | Jack Chester |
| Follow That Bird | 1985 | | State Trooper |
| Brewster's Millions | 1985 | | Spike Nolan |
| The Last Polka | 1985 | TV Movie | Yosh Shmenge Pa Shmenge |
| Splash | 1984 | | Freddie Bauer |
| The New Show | 1984 | TV Series | Various Luciano Pavarotti Orson Welles |
| Ray Parker Jr.: Ghostbusters | 1984 | Video short | Cameo appearance (uncredited) |
| SCTV Channel | 1983 | TV Series | Various |
| Going Berserk | 1983 | | John Bourgignon |
| National Lampoon's Vacation | 1983 | | Lasky, Guard at Walleyworld |
| SCTV Network | 1981-1983 | TV Series | Various / Johnny LaRue / Zontar |
| Saturday Night Live | 1981 | TV Series | Juan Gavino |
| Heavy Metal | 1981 | | Desk Sergeant (segment "Harry Canyon") / Dan (segment "Den") / Den (segment "Den") / ... (voice) |
| Stripes | 1981 | | Ox |
| Tales of the Klondike | 1981 | TV Mini-Series | Hans Nelson |
| The Blues Brothers | 1980 | | Burton Mercer |
| Double Negative | 1980 | | John |
| The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog | 1980 | TV Movie | Pinky |
| 1941 | 1979 | | Pvt. Foley |
| Lost and Found | 1979 | | Carpentier |
| SCTV | 1976-1979 | TV Series | Various / Johnny LaRue |
| The Silent Partner | 1978 | | Simonsen |
| King of Kensington | 1977 | TV Series | Bandit |
| The David Steinberg Show | 1976-1977 | TV Series | Spider Reichman Spider |
| Find the Lady | 1976 | | Kopek |
| The Clown Murders | 1976 | | Ollie |
| 90 Minutes Live | 1976 | TV Series | Various (1976) |
| Tunnel Vision | 1976 | | Cooper |
| Coming Up Rosie | 1975 | TV Series | Wally Wypyzypychwk (1976-77) |
| It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time | 1975 | | Kopek |
| Police Surgeon | 1975 | TV Series | Richie Beck / Ramon |
| Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins | 1974 | TV Series | |
| The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | 1974 | TV Series | 2nd Son |
| Class of '44 | 1973 | | Paule (uncredited) |
| Cucumber | 1972 | TV Series | Weatherman |
| Canadian Bacon | 1995 | | Sheriff Bud Boomer |
| Wagons East | 1994 | | James Harlow |
| Hostage for a Day | 1994 | TV Movie | Yuri Petrovich (uncredited) |
| Cool Runnings | 1993 | | Irv |
| Rookie of the Year | 1993 | | Cliff Murdoch - Announcer (uncredited) |
| Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories | 1992 | TV Series | Narrator (segment "Blumpoe the Grumpoe Meets Arnold the Cat") |
| Boris and Natasha | 1992 | TV Movie | Kalishak |
| Once Upon a Crime... | 1992 | | Augie Morosco |
| JFK | 1991 | | Dean Andrews |
| Delirious | 1991 | | Jack Gable |
| Only the Lonely | 1991 | | Danny Muldoon |
| Career Opportunities | 1991 | | C.D. Marsh (uncredited) |
| Nothing But Trouble | 1991 | | Dennis / Eldona |
| The Rescuers Down Under | 1990 | | Wilbur (voice) |
| Home Alone | 1990 | | Gus Polinski |
| Masters of Menace | 1990 | | Beer Truck Driver |
| The Dave Thomas Comedy Show | 1990 | TV Series | |
| The Rocket Boy | 1989 | TV Movie | The Hawk |
| Uncle Buck | 1989 | | Buck Russell |
| Speed Zone | 1989 | | Charlie Cronan |
| Who's Harry Crumb? | 1989 | | Harry Crumb |
| Sesame Street, Special | 1988 | TV Movie | Yosh Shmenge (segment "Put Down the Duckie") |
| Hot to Trot | 1988 | | Don (voice) |
| The Great Outdoors | 1988 | | Chet Ripley |
| She's Having a Baby | 1988 | | Chet from 'The Great Outdoors' (uncredited) |
| Planes, Trains & Automobiles | 1987 | | Del Griffith |
| Spaceballs | 1987 | | Barf |
| Really Weird Tales | 1987 | TV Movie | Howard Jensen (segment "Cursed with Charisma") |
| Little Shop of Horrors | 1986 | | Wink Wilkinson |
| Armed and Dangerous | 1986 | | Frank Dooley |
| Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood | 1986 | TV Movie | Wallace Osgood |
| Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas | 1985 | TV Movie | Marcel |
| The Canadian Conspiracy | 1985 | TV Movie | Various |
| Volunteers | 1985 | | Tom Tuttle from Tacoma |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Biography | 2010 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Montreal International Comedy Festival '93 | 1993 | TV Movie | Himself - Host |
| Friends of Gilda | 1993 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Camp Candy | 1989-1992 | TV Series | Himself |
| Showbiz Today | 1991 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1991 | TV Series | Himself |
| Entertainment Tonight | 1991 | TV Series | Himself |
| Warner Bros. Celebration of Tradition, June 2, 1990 | 1990 | TV Movie documentary | Host |
| Seriously... Phil Collins | 1990 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 1990 | TV Series | Himself |
| Videosyncrasy | 1990 | TV Series | Himself |
| The 62nd Annual Academy Awards | 1990 | TV Special | Himself - Co-Presenter: Best Live Action Short Film |
| Flames 88-89 | 1989 | Video documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Sesame Street | 1989 | TV Series | Himself |
| ESPN Top Rank Boxing | 1989 | TV Series | Himself - Audience Member |
| Who Shrunk Saturday Morning? | 1989 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Late Night with David Letterman | 1982-1989 | TV Series | Himself |
| Larry King Live | 1989 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Good Morning America | 1989 | TV Series | Himself |
| Season's Greetings: An Evening with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra | 1988 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Jackie Gleason: The Great One | 1988 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Host |
| The 60th Annual Academy Awards | 1988 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best Makeup |
| Citizen Steve | 1987 | Documentary short | Clip Maxwell |
| Big City Comedy | 1986 | Video documentary | Various |
| Comic Relief | 1986/I | TV Special | Stan Shmenge |
| The 3rd Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Awards | 1986 | TV Special | Himself |
| Tears Are Not Enough | 1985 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Second City 25th Anniversary Special | 1985 | TV Special | Himself |
| Saturday Night Live | 1983-1985 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Host / Various |
| Welcome to the Fun Zone | 1984 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The New Show | 1984 | TV Series | Himself / Various / Chris Serling |
| Pete's Place | 1983 | TV Series | Himself (1983) |
| The 8th Annual Young Comedians Show | 1983 | TV Special | Himself - Host / Mr. Mambo |
| It Came from Hollywood | 1982 | Documentary | Himself |
| The 34th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | 1982 | TV Special | Himself - Co-Winner: Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program |
| The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour | 1982 | TV Series | Himself |
| Big City Comedy | 1980 | TV Series | Himself |
| Dinah! | 1975 | TV Series | Himself |
$15 Million
