In Memory of John Candy 25 Years Since His Death
The great actor John Candy died 25 years ago today, and I thought I would write a few words in loving memory.
John Candy (1950–1994)
The first celebrity death I remember hearing about was John Candy. When he passed away on March 4, 1994, I was nine years old, super young and yet already a huge movie buff. I remember loving Candy’s work from an early age, starting with Home Alone, where he essentially appeared in a glorified cameo, but I also liked an underrated flick he made called Once Upon a Crime in 1992, and I loved the hell out of Cool Runnings the following year.
When I heard of his death exactly twenty-five years ago today from my neighbor’s mom Kathy, I was floored. Stunned. The guy was in his early forties, how could he have died? I couldn’t believe all the great films Candy had yet to make and would never make. It’s what I often think when the best of our actors die, like Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The amount of amazing films they’ll never be a part of now.
John Candy isn’t really in the stratosphere of most film discussions in 2019, he’s been gone a long time, but I think about Candy a lot. Why? Because he’s the centerpiece of my all-time favorite film comedy — John Hughes’…