John Candy - True Double Blue

I was outplayed on all the special teams and I guess my legs had just kind of gotten tired and realized I was running down on the kickoff we had just scored and I'll set my legs I just feel like it packed trainers come out and I'm down I'm like man I'm trying to take you did I blow out my knees and what's going on and I look up Johnson you know he's coming across the field like this this is no like with intent like he's coming I got all Hopkins know you're embarrassed you know I not the owners coming out at you then his face I go back to chuck John's on one knee doing the out father he's praying with Carl who was a religious man at the time about their injury I just looked at the moment no owners doing this this was passion I think family always comes first and then you know Argonauts probably and then his acting I don't remember him doing too many movies or anything during that time period but I'm definitely I think they came second if not first he really did live and die double blue I might have been one of the last persons to talk to John before he passed away called to tell me that the team was going to be sold in it they would no longer be involved they decided to pull out his partners did you get the sense they decide oh absolutely he went along with the decision but yeah he was said I get on the plane that morning I fly up to Vancouver and it comes over on the radio that John Candy just passed away that morning Don and next year in his film and I had to stop the car pull over to the side of the road I just couldn't believe it fluorescent orange whip orange whip orange whip three orange whips John Kenny was a bona fide movie star comic movie star what do you live in the city you have a house apartment oh no it rent what do you do for a living lots of things where's your office I don't have one he's an icon Jonah's work still fun for you the work is and I'll tell you the business rider wears thin for me now mmm that really does I have the negotiations on all the people and everybody's your friend and it's your new best friend I'm going to hunt my life in it right now so getting back and reflecting a little back what do I want to do now I was on the board of directors of Hollywood Park Racetrack on the board was hearing or nest and we were talking one day and he just said you know you like Canadian sports he said I just bought into the Toronto Argonauts and the CFL I said oh that's interesting John loved it more than anybody and I think one of the reasons that Bruce McNall actually pursued the Toronto Argonauts is because John Candy's did so much wanted to be a part of it in February 1991 Bruce McNall Wayne Gretzky and John Candy purchased the Toronto Argonauts we bought the team for five million and drawn and way in each took 10% I realized one thing at the time though with John and that is that you know this could get expensive so I said you know maybe we should cap John so we did we capped him at a million dollars I think it was so that he couldn't lose more than that no matter what happens going into ownership with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky was a perfect fit for John Candy Knoll was a successful and high-profile sports owner who in dramatic star-studded fashion and turned the Los Angeles Kings around and made hockey a hot attraction in Southern California McNall saw similar turnaround potential in both the Argonauts and the CFL but for John Candy purchasing the Toronto Argonauts was about much more than business it was personal when we first started second city we used to call John Johnny Toronto you know that that you know that this kind of this kind of dude right because he just kind of had his finger on everything and that character kind of morphed into Johnny LaRue buying the Argos was that he we told him John you but you're actually now turning into Johnny LaRoche you're now on a football team it was just kind of like this like Argonaut title wave kind of hit our family you just see there's excitement all around about it I got to the point where I'm on my mom's birthday we had a Rose Bowl so we would actually create our own football teams we get everyone we get jerseys made and you know we had teams and we played together how great is it he becomes an owner of his hometown teams think about how great is that so he's very is loved John Candy was born in Newmarket Ontario but grew up in East York guitar Otto subber his father passing away when John was five kandi didn't gravitate to football until high school play left tackle on the offensive line it was a funny guy but when it came to football he was very serious about being good at what he did oh my goodness Wow for 1967 Junior champs at Neal McMahon that was his forte that was his outlet Toronto on the Hamilton 2050 argon cookie Gilchrist dick shadow they were our football heroes for sure John definitely had scenes days that was a quasi religion for him going Argo games he wanted a career in football when he was in high school he's like okay I'm gonna be a football player he had a pretty serious knee injury that prevented him from playing further and I think that he was a saddened by that because I know he loved football very much I had started a talent agency and we had opened an office right across from Eden's college Street and they had a cafeteria in the basement and a couple times I had bumped into this young man and we just got along great I asked him what he wanted to do did he want to be an actor and he sort of said no he wanted to be a football player but he had been injured and it just so happened that that day we got delivered to us a commercial and they were looking for young men to play in a football team to his surprise he got it and I told them here you're playing a football player now you can say you were a football player and he said yes but one day I'm going to on the Argos I thought it was a joke and he was serious he said no I'm going to own the Argos it's become the National Football League's Rite of Spring and hello once again everybody I'm Chris Berman last night rocket Ishmael decided to lift off and land as a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1991 rahid the rocket Ismail out of the University of Notre Dame was the projected number one overall pick at the NFL Draft forgoing the NFL his mail signed a record four-year 18 million dollar contract with Bruce McNall in the Toronto Argonauts and it was more of a shock than anything else he's not going to the Dallas Cowboys you go play in the CFL candy was thrilled overnight there was a buzz in Toronto and we currently looking for phones have been ringing off the hook everyone was talking about the organize we do up in John Candy and Maureen O'Hara as a John tried to show you an interesting in any football teams at all not thank you your heart go nuts yes you're gonna be involved in picking players in Alaska I'll be blocking for that kind of money I'm looking after Lee oh it's just rotten improvising you know he is such a fan he was so great that way living his dream as an Argo owner a 40-year old movie star put his career on hold and became a tireless promoter of his beloved Argonauts the vision was every game was giving an event we wanted to make every game a special event and we kicked it off with the Blues Brothers at halftime and postgame Oh first of all I would wax his car and do his lawn if he asked me okay that's how loyal and and and how much I love this man he said hey Jimmy you want to come up with a jet and with me and Wayne and Bruges and a bunch of people for the opening of the argonauts game I want when's the date it was so exciting to have everyone talking about the CFL again you know maybe I was there cuz John was my friend that's why yes he lived in LA but he really loved being Canadian I think that was his passion for you know being a part of this team he wanted to bring his friends up there and show them a good time and also show him what he was you know proud of it was show time every week is the SkyDome when the when the roof opened baby it was show time I remember Lily needing a shot in the arm and they absolutely provided that it was the place to be June of a major movie star who would go to every little nook and cranny - so not only the front Argonauts but the whole CFL yeah we toured the country we went to every every CFL city and you know he was flying around on his own nickel at the time to see if I had a rule that he couldn't lift the black unless his solo John would then do 24 hours of media and pleading to the fans come buy a ticket we're lifting this black up thank you all for showing up it's terrific you know there are thick it's still available we would get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and we get in the car and we drive - every morning radio show John Candy who's been signing autographs for the last hour or so we rally the community would go to charity events I believe we've busted every blackout that's easy he truly enjoyed going to the games and he loved being a part owner of the Toronto Argonauts there's no question about it promoting the league was the dream role for John but the real payoff the heart of the matter was his love for the players he wanted to hang out with the players not just in the locker room he'd invite the guys out you know he'd call you if you were injured I think he would have been with us every second if he could have been you know I remember in Calgary when I had a concussion and I remember John came into the hospital and everybody was like is your dark Eddie's old and also it made me feel even more important because I like you're done candy coming to see you me his heart was so big like they don't have a cappuccino machine in the locker you know we next thing you know one shows up you know he pulled out an old pack of matches and he wrote his name and he put candy on it he gave me his phone number and he said anything you guys need anytime I'll always be there for you you know we can't tell him but here I'm tell him he did a wonderful job he touched a lot of us with John's passion for the game you didn't want to let him down Donegan looks to the end zone we didn't lose one game at home that year which included the eastern final where there were 50,000 fans in the stands going into the Grey Cup game I remember John was like make sure you guys put your helmet up there one more time you show him who's gonna dictate the game and I get goose bumps still talking about it the most inspirational moment for me that entire year may have been John Candy standing on the sidelines and a leather coat in 20-below at the Grey Cup he's not up in the press box with you know all the heat and all he he is down on the field with his guys and now all of a sudden I'm not his cold the 1991 edition of the Toronto Argonauts 3621 the Calgary Stampeders today a little bag stadium which is beaming you know it's like this is this is a dis so happy weight speeches I got up there and I said this is about one person John please get up here John get up they're gonna motion when you start crying to own a team and to see that team in one season go from I wonder how they'll do to winning the Grey Cup was as thrilling for John as anything could have been we had the parade downtown and it was just like man everybody was so happy and man I just remember jumping on his back and hugging the man he wanted to do something special for the city and he was actually able to accomplish it and to be a part of it he really made me feel good the pride that he must have felt as a local boy hoisting that cup the parade here that must have been huge for 91 was was unbelievable he brought back the the passion the glory of the of the Toronto Argonauts and of the CFL he looked back on it and it seems it seems like it was um a flash in the pan it seems like it was just there's an explosion of energy of good times passion love of pain sacrifice and it was just gone in 1992 the fairy tale came to an end despite winning a Grey Cup the previous year the high-priced Argonauts were losing money star quarterback matt dunigan left for Winnipeg the Argos missed the playoffs Noel's commitment to the team began to waver I had a big responsibility in my mind to to john wayne john was capped in the investment he'd made at a million dollars but wayne was not so we both had to pour money in and I realized what can we do to change I mean we won the Grey Cup we had rocket I don't know what else we could do to bring revenues in but the candy was determined to turn it around he's always looking at angles to try and like boost you know ticket sales or just keep you know morale going in the stands and on the on the field the rocket left for the NFL and during a three win season in 1993 candy uncovered a heartbreaking truth - I remember the last time I saw John yeah John and I had a difficult conversation actually Shawn was not aware that Bruce had asked me to find a buyer for the team John felt that I betrayed him and the trust of the club at the time I was doing what my boss told me to do I talked to John about this but you know we said troubling have to do something it had a lot to do with my own financial situation at the time because I had major debts out there trying to find a way to cover everything cfl was one of the assets it was losing money as many asses I had a lot it was a house of cards I knew when money from our ticketing office was going to LA Bay hockey bills you know is something going on John was emotionally invested he didn't want to sell he was passionate about it and meant everything to him he knew what had happened humorous to the issues emotionally though you know Hugh board is harder than asleep and the charm of the Argonauts were a part of his family and for him just to walk away from a family member that was gonna happen with John I could definitely tell when they're in financial trouble he was having a hard time with it it's a Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert December 93 you know at that point John was uh was having what he called panic attacks happen maybe a couple of times that night where we would start walking off the stage and then he would have to stop and and I and I would just look over and go panic attack and he go yet those last few times that I did see him he was flying in really tight schedule you know coming in just for lunch you know and it's like he had a lot on his mind team was sold very quickly and I think he was in Mexico shooting the film one that did it happen he got a phone call from Tirana they'd been told that the team was sold I know that that really hurt him if there's any memory of it as he had love for that team and in every player on that team I wanted to call him it was actually the night before he passed and he liked that the support I decided not to do it I don't to bother him in case he sleep in her he's resting I feel really bad I never made that call good evening it was news that caught everyone off guard the laughter stopped and there were more than a few tears Canadian actor John Candy has died I remember I said we're gonna top my brother was kidding because he called me up on the phone and I said man quit messing around he said nah just heard on the radio you think about how many people have the opportunity to help people but don't and do you think about somebody who goes out of their way and doesn't have to and so that's why we're so powerful I even now that little star right there we you know we put this on John's on our Jersey the year that next year and in remembering John Candy you know this is all this will go to my grave with me that's just how much he meant to me don't know good I have is that my fiasco that I created brought the whole thing into a mess where I had no choice but to sell it he's received many awards I think they're going to be a higher honor for him he'd love it for him to get his name finally put on it was you a very big deal for us as a family and you know that he's somewhere you know smiling because of it I think with anything like he loved you don't care we have hater on it cuz you love doing cuz you have a passion for it if you don't if it's a jobs and rethinking if it's anything you do you have to do it from heart

Channel: CanadaClassicSports

Views: 203,585

Keywords: TSN Documentary, John Candy, True Double Blue, Double, Blue, CFL, Canadian Football, Toronto Argonaughts, 1991, Gretzky McNall Candy, Rocket Ismail

Id: i4HzYF67B6U

Length: 23min 7sec (1387 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 06 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/witch1329]

Wow this is really amazing. I had no idea John Candy was that into football.

[u/AllDesperadoStation]

That made me cry.

[u/Pilkyboid]

Nice documentary. Also, the kids really resemble JC.

[u/salmon10]

I had no idea, this was fantastic