John Candy. The bear hug of comedy. No one funnier. He was someone that people
didn't idolize as much as they identify with. He loved being funny,
and he loved acting. Those characters are
bigger than life. The guy attracted fans
like a moth to a light. One of the problems
that comes along with fame is you've got to sustain it. He was way overweight. Everybody has their
demons that they got face. Deep down, he felt he was
living on borrowed time. One of the most spectacularly
natural comedic actors ever. [theme music] NARRATOR: By the early
1990s, John Candy's career had spanned the better
part of two decades. Fans young and old adored
him for his comedic roles in more than 30 films. "Planes, Trains,
and Automobiles." Some coffee. - No.
- Milk? - No.
- Soda? - No.
- Some tea? - No.
- Lifesavers? - No.
- Slurpee? "Uncle Buck." Who are you? I'm your Uncle Buck. "Spaceballs." That's my name, Barf. NARRATOR: John's
stock in trade were lovable comedic characters. He had that gift
like Chaplin had. Everyone loved him. Very few actors
had that quality, and he had it in spades. NARRATOR: And audiences were
able to identify with John when they saw him on the big screen. I think seriously that
somebody with a big heart comes through on
screen, and there was something winning about John
that was totally real that came out. You felt for him
too when he got hurt because he was just so
big and lovable and vulnerable, you know? I think John Candy's
central appeal is that he is so approachable and so likable. It's not that he's in your
face or are making you laugh in an aggressive way, rather
I think he's inviting us in. You know, some kind of a
like a Johnny lunch pail sort of every guy. NARRATOR: He was not only one
of the funniest actors around, he was also one of the nicest. He was just a sweetheart
and as an actor, he was very giving. He never tried to
upstage anybody. NARRATOR: John had a reputation
for being the star that bent over backwards to
treat everyone with respect. In 1990, his "Only the
Lonely" co-star Maureen O'Hara witnessed this
quality firsthand. When John landed the
role with Maureen O'Hara, he was very excited about that
because he really had looked up to her as this
amazing world star. On "Only the Lonely"
she had a small trailer. John had the big trailer. NARRATOR: When John asked the
producers why Maureen didn't have a full-sized trailer,
they told him there was only enough money in the
budget for one trailer, his. In John's mind, she
was being treated badly so he gave her his
trailer, and he moved into the small trailer. I think that speaks
to both his integrity as an actor, who wants to
make everyone feel supported, but also just his nature
as sort of an every guy. He's not an elitist. NARRATOR: Even as an
a-list Hollywood star, John remained true to his
small town Canadian roots. John Franklin Candy was
born on October 31, 1950 in Ontario, Canada. He was the second child of
Evangeline and Sidney Candy. His father had recently returned
from fighting in World War II. His father was this larger
than life figure to him. He was in a Scottish
regiment out of Canada, and spent six years in
the worst of the war. NARRATOR: After he returned,
Sidney sold used cars in Ontario. John was very working class,
has working class roots. NARRATOR: But in 1955, tragedy
struck, and Sidney Candy died of a heart attack at age 35. John is taken to the funeral
and he says no one tells him why his father died. He knows his father's gone away. He's five years old, he
doesn't know what death means. So in his head, he starts
thinking, why did he leave me? Why did he abandoned me? Why did he go away? Sidney was buried on the day
of John's fifth birthday party. It was devastating
for young John. He made a remark once that
struck me as extraordinary. He said, I'm still the
little boy he left behind. NARRATOR: Sidney's death was
difficult for the entire Candy family. Once my grandpa passed away,
they picked up and moved closer to family and friends. NARRATOR: Evangeline,
five-year-old John, and seven-year-old Jim
moved into a small bungalow with her sister in East
York, a suburb of Toronto. That was a traumatic
time for her. She was very young at the time
to lose a husband at that time, to have two young boys. Very courageous, I mean. She wanted to take care of us. NARRATOR: To support her family,
Evangeline took a job selling women's clothes at Eaton's,
a large department store in Toronto. John, meanwhile, found
refuge at the local theater. When he was a little boy,
there's a movie there right down the block, and John
would go to the movies and he would just
be taken away by It. NARRATOR: Simply watching
the movies was not enough. John wanted a part
in the stories he saw on the big screen. He would come home,
and for his mother, he would act out a
part in the movie. If it was a lady's part,
he'd get his mother's dress, and he'd put it
on, and carry on. And his mother fought
it was hilarious. Loved it. And he loved it. NARRATOR: As a teen, John
attended Neil McNeil High School, where he made his
mark as an offensive tackle on the Varsity football team. In Canada, where he's
from, hockey and football are the two great religions,
next to the Catholic church. NARRATOR: John was always
heavier than most kids his age, but because of his agility,
he was a key player on a highly successful team. He loves it, and he was
supposedly very good at it. He had dreams, John,
not of being an actor. He had dreams of being
a football player. NARRATOR: The team made a
splash during the regular season and set their sights on winning
the conference championship. Privately, John hoped this would
lead to a professional football career with his hometown
team, the Toronto Argonauts. And what happens to them? They win the championship. NARRATOR: But the victory
was bittersweet for John. He injures his knee,
and that's finished. He loved to play, so to be
debilitated with disabled knee, he was super bummed about that. NARRATOR: After
high school, John enrolled in a local community
college to study journalism. He loved writing. He did scripts and he was very
creative that way, so he had all these stories in his head
that he would always put down on paper, so hence, why I
think he went into journalism. NARRATOR: While there, he
took some acting classes and worked at Eaton's Department
Store to support himself. Here, a chance encounter
would forever alter his life. In 1970, talent agent Catherine
McCartney opened her offices across the street. We would across the street
there every day to the cafe for a little snack,
and a couple of times, I sort of bumped into this
tall, handsome young man. He would get very
flustered because we always seemed to be bumping
into one another, and we just started talking. NARRATOR: He told her he thought
he might want to be an actor. And I said, great. As fate would have
it, we received a call from an art director
friend of ours and he was looking for
a young, teenage boy. He wanted him to be big and
tall and to be a football player in high school, but
to be friendly and warm. So we said, we've got
an audition for you, and he went out and got it. NARRATOR: That first
part in a toothpaste ad whetted John's appetite. His first year
in the business, he did a lot of auditions, he
did a lot of acting lessons. He ended up just only doing
about two years of journalism school. NARRATOR: John met yet
another woman at Eaton's who would assume a significant
role in his life, Rosemary Hobor, a student at the
Ontario College of Art. They were both working
in Eaton's and my mom was working on woman's side and
my dad's working on men's side. They're mutual friends, they
kind of were like, hey, Rose, we have someone to
introduce you to. NARRATOR: After they met,
John came up with a ploy to get to know Rose better. My dad had gone
to her department at Eaton's and was
like, hey, do you type? And she's like, yeah. And so he's like, can
you type a script for me? And she's like, OK, sure. From that moment on from,
from what I understand, they spent a lot
of time together and just really hit it off. NARRATOR: During this time,
John landed small roles in local theater, but
as a struggling actor, he still needed a day
job to pay the bills. There was a door-to-door
salesman selling paper napkins, paper plates, paper cups,
and stuff like that. There were 40 salesmen,
and he was the worst. So one day he said his boss
calls him in, and says, John, you're out of here. You're fired. I never should have
hired a goddamn actor in the first place. And John said, my
God, I thought, it's the first time somebody
recognized me as an actor. He said that
identity became him, and that actually was
the turning point. He realized that he wanted
to do acting and make that his full-time career. NARRATOR: From
that point forward, John only took work as an actor,
a decision that would soon pair him with some of the most
respected names in comedy. By 1972, 22-year-old John
Candy had left his job as a door-to-door salesman to
try to make it as an actor. He was starting to make
his way in the Toronto acting community,
taking drama classes, and beginning to land
stage and commercial work. At the time, Toronto was
a hotbed for young talent. As a result, John
befriended such up and comers as Dan Aykroyd, Gilda
Radner, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas. They all knew each
other, because most of them had performed in "Godspell,"
which was kind of a fountain of talent in Toronto. NARRATOR: They were struggling
to land acting gigs, but John was about
to be presented with a new opportunity. In 1973, Second City, the
legendary Chicago comedy theater that had spawned such
talents as Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, and Fred Willard, had
the idea to open a satellite branch in Toronto. Second City started in 1959. It was kind of an offshoot of
a bunch of intellectuals out of the University of Chicago. The Chicago base wanted
to try out Toronto, so we went up there on a
talent search basically. NARRATOR: Being selected for
Second City's Toronto troupe would be a coup for
any struggling actor, but John was
reluctant to audition. He really did want it. He just didn't have the
courage to go to it. NARRATOR: So John's friend,
fellow actor Dan Aykroyd, concocted a plan. He invited John out to lunch,
then asked John to drive him to the audition. When they arrived,
unbeknownst to John, Aykroyd put both his and John's
names on the audition list. Before John realized
what was happening, the audition had begun. John, who was I think
the youngest then, he had the least
amount of experience, and he was so funny that Del
Close really liked him a lot. NARRATOR: Del Close was a famed
improvisationalist and director at Second City's
home base in Chicago. He had helped mold such talent
as John Belushi and Harold Ramis. Catching his eye was
a huge boon for John. We had sort of
picked out our cast. We said, what about John? And Del Close said,
I like that guy. I'm going to take
him down to Chicago. NARRATOR: Having
aced his audition, John was jumping
right over Toronto and heading to the big leagues,
the main stage of the Second City Theater in Chicago. There, he would
have the opportunity to work with talented
comedians such as Bill Murray. In 1973, 23-year-old John left
Ontario for the first time in his life and headed south of
the border to the windy city. John was just a
babe in the woods, and Chicago was this big,
rough and tumble town. NARRATOR: And being a rookie
on stage with heavy hitters was difficult for
the kid from Canada. I just remember John
saying it was kind of hard keeping up with them because
he had so little experience. He just was thrown into
the wolves, so to speak. John came down
and joined our cast. In the middle of the show, I
was entering from stage left and he was exiting stage
left, and we collided. I don't know how he made
it through the sketch, but when I went backstage, John
was out on the sofa with ice on his head. NARRATOR: But John managed
to survive and learn the ropes of improv comedy. For the most part, he was
just learning what was funny and learning not to
disappear onstage. Getting more ballsy,
if I can use the word. NARRATOR: As soon as John had
finished his run in Chicago, he went back to join the Toronto
cast that now included Rosemary Radcliffe, Eugene Levy, Gilda
Radner, and Joe Flaherty. I was the most
pleased with John. Of all the people
I worked with, I thought he grew as a performer
and actor leaps and bounds. When you're doing improv,
it's like a tennis game. You lob back and forth,
and a good player will lob it right
back and maybe put a little bit of a spin on it and
John really personified that. The audiences really
just start getting it and the critics really
started to understand it more. NARRATOR: Seeing Second City
became the hottest ticket in town. A great buzz went
around the city, and it wasn't too long before
it was pretty hard to get in. It was the humor for that
generation, and it was smart. It was satirical,
and it was cynical. And it was just a magical time. NARRATOR: Sketch comedy had
never been more popular, and in 1975, a TV producer named
Lorne Michaels began hiring cast members for "Saturday
Night Live," a new late night show on NBC. Lorne would come
in Second City and see someone he liked
and, boom, they'd be gone. NARRATOR: Second City would have
to do something quick or else Lorne would cherry pick
all of their top talent. So they wanted to offer us
something to keep us there at Second City. NARRATOR: So Second City created
its own show dubbed "SCTV", and John was picked
for the ensemble cast. We got an offer to do
shows on Global Television. NARRATOR: But despite
its name, Global TV had nowhere near
the reach of NBC. The Global Network consisted
of four stations in Ontario. The show was going to be a
half hour show on once a month on four stations in Ontario. Oh, boy, the big time. NARRATOR: And they had
the budget to match. I think like a $5,000 show
budget back in the Global days. NARRATOR: Which had
an obvious impact. We're all in a
room in my office trying to come up
with the idea, what about a small little network,
and the show sort of developed. NARRATOR: "SCTV" was a spoof
satirizing a low budget TV network in the fictional
town of Melonville, Canada. The cast, who
doubled as writers, embraced the concept and
the show quickly took shape. John played multiple characters
on the show, such as the gender bending Divine. Seriously, I've been
collecting your albums since I was a little boy. NARRATOR: And talk show
sidekick Willie B. Williams. John developed a really
good character approach. For every scene he did, he
liked to look different, and so he's doing this
character work all the time. NARRATOR: But his
most famous character was Johnny LaRue,
washed up movie star who landed in Melonville. People of Melonville
are all idiots. We wanted a bigger
than life guy, a cross between Falstaff
and Orson Wells, you know, somebody that was
overly self-important. Great speech, Johnny. NARRATOR: When it first
aired on September 21, 1976, "SCTV" was a hit
with the critics, and John was its standout star. When you saw John on screen,
you couldn't take your eyes off him. That's what I know our
producers recognized in him right away. His persona was so
big that any character that you put on that persona
was just like a jacket or a hat. NARRATOR: "SCTV" was picked
up for a second season, and when the show's head writer
Harold Ramis was stuck in LA working on the screenplay
for "Animal House," Second City owner Andrew
Alexander sent the cast there to live together for six
weeks and write the episodes. And John was the
instigator for throwing our first big Hollywood party. We'd invite all the
people in that we knew. Tons of people showed up. A lot of young up and
coming famous people now were at that party,
and I remember John walking around with Chevy Chase
in a headlock, you know, for about two hours. The drink in one hand, Chevy,
you know, with his head in another. It was pretty funny. And also Steven Spielberg
walked in the door. Now this was after "Jaws"
and "Close Encounters." What Steven was doing there was
preparing for his next movie, which was a comedy, and
so, I think he was just trying to assemble a cast. John looks at him, he goes,
I liked your fish movie. Which is like a really
terrible reduction of "Jaws." NARRATOR: But John managed
to make a good impression on Spielberg. As we started back in
Toronto starting up the show, we found out that John was
on board for his movie called "1941." NARRATOR: After he finished
filming "SCTV's" second season, John Candy left low budgets
behind in Melonville. He was on his way to big
money in Tinsel Town, but he was about to find out
that more green didn't always equal bigger laughs. In 1978, 28-year-old
John Candy had just finished a run on the Canadian
sketch comedy show "SCTV" and landed in Hollywood to work
on his most ambitious project to date, Steven Spielberg's
big budget comedy "1941." "1941" starred John's
friend Dan Aykroyd and Second City alum John
Belushi in a comedic account of the panic in LA after the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Steven Spielberg had
never done a comedy before, and so John was always
quick to throw out advice. Oh, why don't you
try this, Steven? NARRATOR: Some of his ideas
made it to the screen, including one of the
most outrageous scenes in the entire movie. John threw out that idea of
the tanks going through a paint factory. It was amazing. That was a great
movie for him to do, because he learned a great
deal about the business. NARRATOR: But it did
little for his career. That's a movie that's not
often talked about because it's Steven Spielberg's first flop. It's loud and explosive
and it's just miscalibrated in a lot of different ways. NARRATOR: John's career
took a second hit when Global TV canceled "SCTV"
after its second season. Because of their budding
fame, the show's actors wanted to be paid more,
something the budget couldn't withstand. 1979 might have been a complete
letdown for John had it not been for one notable highlight. On April 28, 1979,
John Franklin Candy married Rosemary Margaret
Hobor at St. Basil's church in Toronto. The ceremony was so solemn and
Rose was absolutely gorgeous, and what I remember
most at the church is John screwing up the
vows somehow and everybody all laughing. It was quite funny,
and broke the ice, and then it was like,
well, that's John. And Rose really smiled. She really was very
accepting of that. She loved what he did. NARRATOR: After their honeymoon,
John went back to work. In 1980, he was
cast in "Stripes," a movie about a ragtag
group of US army recruits. There's a great scene where
we're sort of introduced to his character,
and the recruits are talking about why
they joined the army. I thought to
myself, join the army. It's free. So I figured, while I'm
here, I'll lose a few pounds. He's bringing up his
weight, as if to say, let's get this subject
out of the way. John struggled
with his weight. He didn't like fat jokes. I think when you're
fat, you're always treated like a second class citizen. You're so vulnerable and
you're so sensitive to it, and I think that has a lot to do
with some of the way I portray characters. NARRATOR: That was especially
evident in a scene in which John had to mud wrestle a
group of scantily clad women. You're very good. You're very competitive. I don't want to go back. You've got to go back. John hated that
mud wrestling scene. First of all, it was a fat joke. It was get the
fat guy in the mud and have him wrestling
with the girls. He didn't like that. He just wanted it to over with. NARRATOR: As painful
as it was for him, John delivered a
knockout performance. John had the every
man quality to him, and I think people responded
to his vulnerability and the essence of John
was that nice lovable guy. NARRATOR: Audiences agreed. When "Stripes" opened
in June of 1981, John's performance
was highly praised. About two nights
later, John was in town, and he said, I'd love to sneak
in when the movie's started just to sit at the back,
just to watch the audience. And the scene where
John first appears, the audience started to applaud. I hope we don't go to war. Excuse me, stewardess, is
there a movie on this flight? When we walked out
before the ending, he said, well, I
guess this is it. NARRATOR: Not only was
John's career taking off, he also had a new role
to play as a father. On February 3, 1980, the Candy's
welcomed their first child Jennifer. Being a father brought
out the best in John. When he had children, I think
it brought out a real nurturing quality in John as well. So he was a very proud daddy. He was just full of
energy and love and warmth. NARRATOR: In 1981, John was
looking for his next role when Second City owner Andrew
Alexander sealed a deal to bring back the darling
of Canadian comedy, "SCTV." This time, however, it would
air on American powerhouse NBC. I got a call, would you be
interested in coming onto NBC? And that was it. They agreed to three 90
minute shows a month. NARRATOR: John returned to
the revamped "SCTV," not as the rookie from East York,
but as marquee talent. He was only 31 years old, yet he
had appeared in films with some of the biggest names in comedy. He made more money
and he had more perks, but John being John,
you'd never know that. He was one of the guys. He would ask for a lot of
stuff, which producers would get really angry about. There'd be drinks for the
trailer and things like that, but they weren't for him. They were for everybody
else, and John was feeding the masses. He was taking care of everybody. He was generous to a fault. NARRATOR: The newly dubbed "SCTV
Network 90" aired Friday nights after "The Tonight Show." With John leading the
cast, "SCTV Network 90" was nominated for and
won an Emmy twice. And that was
definitely recognition that he thought
was well deserved, and John really was
thrilled with it. NARRATOR: "SCTV" was
a critical darling but ratings were disappointing. By 1983, once again,
"SCTV," the funniest show that no one watched,
was canceled, but a love story about
a fish would soon put John on top of the box office. In 1983, John Candy had come
off a successful run on the Emmy winning "SCTV Network 90,"
Second City's quirky sketch comedy show on NBC. He had received rave reviews for
his supporting roles in films, such as '"Stripes, "National
Lampoon's Vacation," and "The Blues Brothers." Who wants an orange whip? Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips. NARRATOR: For his return
to the big screen, John appeared opposite
Tom Hanks in "Splash," a film about a mermaid searching
for love in New York City. For this role, John went
decidedly against his type. He's actually
presented as a womanizer. He is a player in that movie. I'll be right back. We'll whisper some more. Have I got some
whispering for you. Oh, God. Oh, God. NARRATOR: His role
as Freddy was nothing like the lovable comedic
characters John usually played. But no matter how
sleazy Freddy was, John's sweetness couldn't
be entirely hidden. When we finally get to
the climax of "Splash," it's John Candy who's delivering
sort of what the film's message is. It's like when love comes your
way, you have to accept it. You can't just reject it. People fall in
love every day, huh? Is that what you said?
- Yeah. Yeah? Well, that's a crock. It doesn't work that way. He started to do more
than just make you laugh, and I think that that's
what made him a great actor. NARRATOR: The film
opened on March 9, 1984, and quickly leapt to the number
one spot at the box office. John Candy had become
a household name, but instead of diving
into a new role, he took the time to confront
an issue he had been battling his entire life, his weight. Everybody has their
demons that they got a face, and I know that John
struggled with that, and he was sensitive about it. NARRATOR: At age 33, John
checked into the Pritikin Weight Loss Center
in Santa Monica. There he engaged in an
intense month long struggle against his health problems
by cutting out alcohol and drastically
altering his diet. He was very serious about
We'd have Pritikin pizza all the time, and we supported
John, and it was pretty good actually. NARRATOR: The struggle paid off. When he emerged, he was
nearly 75 pounds lighter. John had never felt
or looked better, and his friends and family
weren't the only ones to notice. In 1985, "Playgirl
Magazine" named him one of the sexiest men alive. I ran into Rosie
around that time. She just found the whole thing
hilarious, and of course, agreed with it, and
in fact, it was true. I mean, it was part of that is
that endearing engaging part of John. NARRATOR: Fans were attracted to
his kindness and gentle nature, which in the years to follow,
paved the way for John to star in the romantic comedies
'"Delirious" and "Only the Lonely," alongside leading
ladies Mariel Hemingway and Ali Sheedy. I said to Mariel he's
your love interest, does that in any way, you know? She said, no, you spend
10 minutes with John, and it's absolutely appropriate
that you're in love with him. He's not playing the sort
of funny fat guy anymore. He's a romantic
lead, and he actually makes it believable like someone
like Ali Sheedy would fall in love with him. NARRATOR: From Lothario
to leading man, John had no problem pulling
off dramatic performances, but nothing packed the
theaters like big laughs. In 1986, John Hughes
sent him a script that would let him do both. "Planes, Trains,
and Automobiles" let John show off the full
range of his acting abilities. What's great about it is
he can make people laugh, but he'll totally
make you cry too. The final moments
of that movie, you realize that the character's
a lot more lonely and serious and lost and flawed than
the character we've seen. You said you were going home. What are you doing here? I, uh, I don't have a home. The whole movie changes
from enduring someone to being charitable
and letting someone in. NARRATOR: The film was
released in November of 1987 and was one of the
highest grossing family films of the holiday season. John was not only a star
in the eyes of his fans, Hollywood bigwigs now viewed
him as a hot commodity. He can sell a movie,
as they say in Hollywood. He can open a movie. NARRATOR: As much as he loves
spending long hours on movie sets, after his son
Christopher was born, John wanted to continue to
work, but also to spend time with his family. There wasn't too much of a
difference from what he was like at home in comparison
to what he portrayed on film, and I that's why
people loved him. My daughter was-- it seems like she was just
born, and now she's in school, and they grow up just so fast. I mean, it's been
said so many times, but they do grow up so
quickly, and I just want to spend some time with them. So they can say, oh, yeah,
that's my father, not that guy on TV. NARRATOR: So John turned to
his own production company Frost Backs Limited, named after
a tongue in cheek slur used to describe Canadians who
came to America for work. Frost Backs was a place where
he could create his own projects without being an
absentee father. It was just a gigantic--
like, there was offices for everybody. I think my mom
even had an office. NARRATOR: Frost Backs wasn't
just all work and no play. He had a bar
brought from Chicago and installed in the front so
that all his buddies could have a drink at the bar. Guys, you want to have
a drink at the bar? NARRATOR: With Frost
Backs, John dove headfirst into new projects, including
a syndicated radio show called "Radio Candy," and a
Saturday morning children's cartoon "Camp Candy." He got my sister and
myself to do a voice. I got to do the
voice of Vanessa. Vanessa was the valley girl. I think it was a way for
him to include his family in a project. NARRATOR: John had been
striking a successful balance between work and home, but he
was about to take a time out from Frost Backs, from radio,
and from Saturday morning cartoons, in order to take a
chance on a childhood dream. By 1991, John Candy
had a career that spanned nearly two decades. He was running his own
production company, and was universally loved for
his performances and films, such as "Stripes," "Planes,
Trains, and Automobiles," and "Uncle Buck." You have much more hair
in your nose than my dad. How nice of you to notice. I think there are character
actors who do characters every time they act, and
then there are stars, and the stars basically
just play themselves. And I think John was
one of those guys, where John's persona was
so strong that you went to see him. You went to see him as the
guy in "Planes, Trains," you to see him as
"Uncle Buck," you went to see him in "Stripes." He was that guy in all of those
movies and people loved him. NARRATOR: But he was ready to
put Hollywood on hold, when in 1991 LA Kings hockey
team owner and friend Bruce McNall called John to
let him know that he was buying the Toronto Argonauts
football team. Hockey icon, Wayne Gretzky was
also coming in as an owner. If John was willing
to invest, he could become a minority
owner of his hometown team. John jumped at the opportunity. All of a sudden, oh, your
dad bought a football team. We're like, OK. That's what's next. When they bought the team
in '91, it was front page news pretty much worldwide. North America wide for certain. CFL had its little niche. When Candy, Gretz,
McNall buy the Argos, and it just kind of blows up. NARRATOR: The fans weren't the
only ones who were excited. As a young boy, John had dreams
of playing for the Toronto Argonauts. To have had dreams of being
a professional football player and to have your
knee go out on you and to lose that
dream, and then years later buying into this team,
it's too good to be true. NARRATOR: John embraced the new
responsibilities of team owner. John was the marketer. He was the promotional guy. He was the man who was going
to put his own career on hold for a year and restore the
luster that was the Canadian Football League and
the Toronto Argonauts. NARRATOR: Even with his new
responsibilities as team owner, John never compromised
his values. When he taught me as well,
treat everybody equally, the doorman at the hotel,
the president of the company, the trainer for the team, or
the player, the quarterback, whomever he was in contact
with, he treated everybody with tremendous respect. NARRATOR: By the time
opening day came, Toronto was crackling with excitement. It's at the Dome
Stadium, newly built, seats 50,000 people, it's full. We're in this box, a private box
that John got us for the game. Myself, Dan Aykroyd,
Jim Belushi, just a bunch of
people like that. I think Andrew
Alexander was there, and John's down on the field
and the Dome Stadium is opening. You could see the CN
tower, and John comes out. 50,000 people just cheering like
crazy, and Aykroyd turns to me, and he goes, he did it. Look at him. He's Johnny Toronto. They love him. There's tons of
Hollywood stars in town, tons of fans
renewed interest. Home opener for the Argo's
back in '91 was magical. NARRATOR: After winning
the home opener, there was no stopping
John or his team. It was so surreal, because
next thing you know we're going to all these football games,
and we're sitting in a box, and sometimes we'd
sit in the stands, and sometimes we'd
be on the sidelines. It was so much fun, and I know
that it was my dad's dream. I knew it was all working when
I got a package from Toronto and it was an Argonauts Jersey
with Mankiewicz on the back. Beginning of
third quarter, John would go down on the field. He'd walk along the sidelines
and he'd sign autographs. And people would see
John coming down. They'd spot him in the end
zone walking behind the bench. The place just lit up. He'd talk to the players
about how much he appreciated their effort, so they would
play really hard for John. NARRATOR: The Argonauts storm
through the regular season undefeated at home, earning a
spot in the Grey Cup, the CFL's answer to the Super Bowl. The Grey Cup was in Edmonton. It was one of the coldest
Grey Cups on record. John came in from Los
Angeles with his family. We flew out with
my dad and my brother and my grandma was there. So we stayed at the same hotel
with all the football players. Then my mom flew in,
and we went to the game, and I just remember it being
really, really, really cold. Freezing cold. NARRATOR: On November 24,
1991, in subzero temperatures, the Toronto Argonauts took
on the Calgary Stampeders. The Argo's played hard, scoring
early and keeping pressure on the Stampeders, but by
early in the fourth quarter, their lead was down
to a single point. But league MVP
Raghib, The Rocket, Ismail responded with an
87 yard kickoff return, giving the Argos
some breathing room. With the momentum
steadily in their favor, the Argos finish strong,
beating the Calgary Stampeders 36 to 21. John Candy was
Toronto's golden child, the hometown hero
returning to take his team to the championship was
the stuff of movies. He used to sneak in Argo games
at the old [inaudible] Stadium. He would tell me he'd sneak
in because he couldn't afford to come. Then he got a job
selling programs just to watch the
games, and then to go out and win
the championship and get a ring, that is a
tremendous storybook ending to the tale. It's incredible. NARRATOR: But the storybook
ending wouldn't last. That championship season was
the high point of his life, and that, of course,
went to hell. In 1991, John Candy had
put his movie career on hold to become part owner of
the Toronto Argonauts and lead them to a
championship title. Even though the Argos
were the toast of Toronto, things didn't look
so good for the team. The team in its winning
season lost $3 million, so it was a continual drain
on him and on other investors. NARRATOR: There was even talk
that majority owner Bruce McNall was looking to unload
the team if he could find a buyer, something John
vehemently opposed. It was fun. He loved it. Whether it made money or not,
as long as he could afford it, he would've stuck with it. NARRATOR: Amidst the
team's financial troubles, John threw himself
back into his work and signed up for the Disney
flick "Cool Runnings," based on the true story of the
1988 Jamaican bobsled team. The production took
him to sunny Jamaica. After spending so much
time on the road in Canada promoting the
Argonauts, John was eager to bring his family with
him for some fun in the sun. We were in Jamaica for a
month for "Cool Running," and we always managed
to go to where he was. "Cool Runnings," what a
wonderful, delightful character that was. He is able to smuggle in
the serious dramatic content of a comedy script. And it doesn't matter if
they come in 1st or 50th, those guys have earned the right
to represent their country. They've earned the right
to march into that stadium wave their nation's flag. NARRATOR: The movie
premiered in 1993 and went on to gross more
than $100 million worldwide. John was at the height of
his popularity and fans across the globe had no problems
letting him know how they felt. Even Rome or Monte
Carlo, everybody knew him. He was a bonafide superstar. It was like walking
around with Elvis. NARRATOR: Being an
international star meant John was able to command
a hefty salary for his films, and he signed on to the
Western comedy "Wagons East" for $3 million. But once he arrived
on location in Mexico, it was obvious that not
all was well with John. He was heavy. Way too heavy. He was very, very overweight. He started to get
anxiety attacks. And I remember one day
we were having lunch and we were walking out, and he
said, just stand here and start talking to me. If they weren't
panic attacks, I think they were probably
early signs of heart problems. John's father died young
from a heart condition. John's brother had
had a heart attack. If we knew he had
a heart problem. I suspect deep down he felt
he was living on borrowed time. Plus, it's fair to
say that he was unhappy the way the shooting was going. If "Blazing Saddles" is
here, this film was there. NARRATOR: But John's problems
weren't solely on set. He called me from Mexico
and he said that Bruce has sold the Argonauts. He was crushed. I think he felt really betrayed. NARRATOR: John would never
see another Argos game again. On the evening of March
3, 1994, 43-year-old John went to sleep after a
long day of filming. He never woke up. The next morning, we had one
of those typical 6:00 AM calls, and as we get out of
the van, one of the ADs said John's, John's dead. And we just collapsed. It was news that caught
everyone off guard. The laughter stopped, and there
were more than a few tears. He was one of the greatest
comedy talents of our time. He died of a heart attack as he
was working on his latest film. I was in my office in
Chicago, and I got a call from my producer in Toronto
that somehow heard a rumor. I turn on the radio, and
there it was all over the place that he had died. The principal had come
to my class and was like, you know we need to
pull Jennifer out, and I was like, OK,
what's going on? I remember seeing my mom there,
and she's crying hysterically. And she says, your dad's dead. It's a shock. It's the worst experience ever. It's still emotional for me. And I think we lost
a great human being. I think everyone
is given a gift, and it takes different forms. Some are never realized,
and fortunately, mine was. NARRATOR: A small
private funeral was held on March 9th at St.
Martin of Tours Catholic church in Los Angeles, but
all of Hollywood seemed to be mourning. It was kind of a bittersweet
thing in the chapel. Every sort of wonderful
comedian or comic actor was there. I mean from Eugene Levy to Chevy
Chase to Danny to Tom Hanks. It was quiet except
for tears and sniffles, and they brought in
John's casket on the cart, and it had a squeaky wheel. [squeaking sound] And, you know, I don't
mean to be disrespectful, but it was like something John
would've written, you know? A little comic moments in
this otherwise sad, sad time. The funeral was something
because the Highway Patrol shut down the 405 completely. One of the most clogged
freeways in the world, the Highway Patrol positioned
motorcycles on every onramp and off ramp while the
procession went by. And then they escorted us to
the cemetery in Culver City, because the police
department respected him. And I remember looking
up at the sky and saying, John, they closed the
bleeping freeway for you. NARRATOR: After
the funeral, there was a memorial held at St.
Basil's in Toronto celebrating the life of its favorite son. You asked him
for his autograph, and he stopped to
ask you about you. You carried his bags
up to his hotel room, and he said, hey, that's too
heavy, let me get that for you, and then he tipped you. You caught a John Candy
scene on TV one night right when you needed to laugh more
than anything in the world. NARRATOR: While John
Candy died too soon, he lives on in his work leaving
something for fans of all ages to remember him by. It was like he spanned
all the generations. He did, you know,
very G rated movies, but people of my generation
knew how hip he was from "SCTV." So he really covered every base. He made movies
come alive, made every movie he was in better. That's the best you
can do as an actor. There's certain
people in your life when you see them you grin
before you do anything, and that was John. He was an incredibly smart
man, an incredibly caring person, and, you know,
he was a great father and he was a great actor. Amazing person. Amazing father. Amazing actor. Amazing talent. He was great.
