An amazing story about John Candy, the Oscars and a pizza party
I like me. My wife likes me…And everybody likes John Candy. Candy is famously one of the nicest guys to ever grace the screen, with stories from co-workers always hitting the most positive of notes. We could say that’s the Canadian in him, but really it just comes down to being genuine. And it wasn’t just the famous or his directors that he was chums with – it was the extras.
With the new documentary on Candy – John Candy: I Like Me – having just recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival – we thought we would look back at one of the great stories surrounding the actor. And it all takes place in a hotel room on the night of the Academy Awards.
One month into filming Planes, Trains and Automobiles, John Candy decided to throw a little get-together in his hotel room for some of the cast to hang out. As recalled by Troy Evans – who is credited as Antisocial Trucker – Candy caught him off guard the night of the Oscars. “The phone rings, I’m sitting in my underwear in my room, eating room service and watching the TV. And the phone rings. ‘Is this Troy?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Troy, this is John Candy. I’m having a few folks up to watch the Oscars, and wondered if you’d like to join us.’”
That sounds like an immediate yes to us – especially since it seems like the perfect opportunity for what is essentially an extra to chum it up with some serious talent. But it didn’t exactly work out that way, which is exactly why this stands as one of the best John Candy stories ever. “I was so excited. You know, John Hughes will be there. The producers will be there. And maybe I’ll meet Steve Martin. I didn’t have any dress clothes, but I cleaned up as best as I could, and went up to John Candy’s room. He was in the same hotel, you know. And John Hughes wasn’t there. The producers weren’t there. And Steve Martin wasn’t there. Who was there was everybody who was like me on the movie. He went through all the down-the-ladder actors and invited them all up to his suite. Isn’t that wonderful? And then he got like, a thousand dollars’ worth of room service. He got like 20 pizzas, and just the food just kept coming all evening. And so as I was leaving, I tried to slip him $200 to help with the food. And I’ll remember this on my deathbed. John Candy said, ‘Troy, that’s been taken care of.’”
John Candy – who passed away in 1994 at the age of just 43 – is much deserving of a documentary, so it’s fantastic that there actually is one. Our own Chris Bumbray actually caught it at TIFF this week, giving it an 8/10. You can read his review here. The film will hit Amazon Prime Video on October 10th.
What stands as your favorite John Candy performance?
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