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John Candy

John Candy

39 movies on Netflix

Biography

John Candy was a Canadian comedian and actor who joined the Toronto branch of The Second City in 1972 and became widely known through the sketch show Second City Television, whose writing won Emmy Awards in 1981 and 1982. He built a film career in the 1980s, starting with parts in 1941 (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980) and National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), and a break-out role opposite Tom Hanks in Splash (1984). Starring vehicles followed, among them Summer Rental (1985), Spaceballs (1987), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989) and Cool Runnings (1993), alongside supporting turns in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Home Alone (1990) and Rookie of the Year (1993). He also did voice work, including Heavy Metal (1981) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990), produced the animated series Camp Candy, wrote The Last Polka with Eugene Levy, and directed the television film Hostage for a Day. He died in 1994.

43years old at death

  • Born Toronto
  • Died Victoria de Durango
  • Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
  • John Franklin Candy (birth name)

Movie Career

Films
39
Career span
50 years1975 to 2025

Genres

First and latest

Photos

  • John Candy, photo 1 of 3
  • John Candy, photo 2 of 3
  • John Candy, photo 3 of 3

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  1. A role that slipped away

    Candy was approached to play accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters, but did not get the part because his ideas for the character conflicted with the filmmakers'; the role went to his SCTV colleague Rick Moranis.

  2. First role

    Candy had a small, uncredited part in Class of '44 in 1973, which was his feature film debut. He also guest-starred on Cucumber, a Canadian children's television series.

  3. A change of course

    In 1991, Candy became a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky. That year the Argonauts won the Grey Cup, beating Calgary in the final.

  4. Behind the camera

    In 1985 Candy went back to Canada for The Last Polka, which he starred in and also wrote alongside his co-star Eugene Levy.

John Candy movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. Planes, Trains & Automobiles1987 Comedyas Del Griffith

    IMDb rating 7.6182K votes

  2. Uncle Buck1989 Comedyas Buck Russell

    IMDb rating 7.1123K votes

  3. Spaceballs1987as Barf

    IMDb rating 7.1229K votes

  4. The Great Outdoors1988as Chet Ripley

    IMDb rating 6.657K votes

  5. Home Alone1990as Gus Polinski

    IMDb rating 7.8755K votes

  6. Cool Runnings1993as Irv

    IMDb rating 7.0125K votes

  7. Splash1984as Freddie Bauer

    IMDb rating 6.389K votes

  8. Brewster's Millions1985as Spike Nolan

    IMDb rating 6.548K votes

Most often with

Chris Columbus directed two of these films, John Hughes two. Eugene Levy appears in nine of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Eugene Levy, 9 films togetherSee the 9 films with Eugene LevyJoe Flaherty, 7 films togetherSee the 7 films with Joe FlahertyDan Aykroyd, 6 films togetherSee the 6 films with Dan AykroydBill Murray, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Bill MurrayJames Belushi, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with James BelushiChevy Chase, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Chevy ChaseChris ColumbusDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Chris ColumbusJohn HughesDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by John Hughes

Films together

Box office

What John Candy's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$1.6 billion

30 of the 39 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 39 films: 30 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.

  • 30Worldwide figure
  • 3US gross only
  • 3Never in cinemas
  • 3Figure not found

Top grosser

Home Alone1990as Gus Polinski$477 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 69% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Home Alone1990as Gus Polinski
    $477M29.0% of the total
  2. 2
    Cool Runnings1993as Irv
    $155M9.4% of the total
  3. 3
    The Blues Brothers1980as Burton Mercer
    $115M7.0% of the total
  4. 4
    19411979as Pvt. Foley
    $95M5.8% of the total
  5. 5
    Stripes1981as Ox
    $85M5.2% of the total
  6. 6
    Uncle Buck1989as Buck Russell
    $79M4.8% of the total
  7. 7
    Splash1984as Freddie Bauer
    $70M4.2% of the total
  8. 8
    National Lampoon's Vacation1983as Lasky, Guard at Walleyworld
    $61M3.7% of the total
Rookie of the Year (1993), $56.5 millionLittle Shop of Horrors (1986), $54.0 millionPlanes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), $49.5 millionThe Rescuers Down Under (1990), $47.4 millionBrewster's Millions (1985), $45.8 millionThe Great Outdoors (1988), $43.5 millionSpaceballs (1987), $38.1 millionOnly the Lonely (1991), $25.1 millionSummer Rental (1985), $24.7 millionHeavy Metal (1981), $20.1 millionVolunteers (1985), $19.9 millionArmed and Dangerous (1986), $15.9 millionFollow That Bird (1985), $14.0 millionCareer Opportunities (1991), $11.3 millionWho's Harry Crumb? (1989), $11.0 millionNothing But Trouble (1991), $8.5 million

$508 millionfrom the other 22 films with a worldwide figure, 31% of the total

Awards

Five awards and honors from 1982 to 1998, two of them major.

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John Candy's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Emmy Awards
1983Outstanding Writing for a Variety SeriesSecond City TelevisionWon
1982Outstanding Writing for a Variety SeriesSecond City TelevisionWon
Other honors
1998Canada's Walk of Fame (posthumous)Honored
1995Earle Grey Award (posthumous)Won
Canadian Comedy AwardsWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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