Celebrity Grave: John Candy, Comedian

 

John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Ontario branch of The Second City. One of his most renowned on-screen performances was that of Del Griffith in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

 

Death

Candy struggled with obesity throughout his adult life. During the late 1980s and early 1990s he gained a large amount of additional weight, making him almost unrecognizable from his years on SCTV. However, he had been making a significant effort to improve his overall health in the last year of his life; he had quit smoking and had begun losing weight.

The 43-year-old Candy died in his sleep from a heart attack on March 4, 1994, while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!

Candy was survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hobor), whom he married in 1979, and their children, Jennifer and Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Martin of Tours Church. Candy was cremated, and was interred in an upper crypt in Room 7 alcove, in the Mausoleum, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for Candy, produced by his former improv troupe The Second City, was broadcast live on CHCH TV (Hamilton, Ontario) and transmitted via satellite to eight stations across Canada. Following his death, the sign atop comedy club The Laugh Factory honored Candy and fellow comedian Bill Hicks (who had died several days earlier): "Rest in peace; make God laugh."