NEED TO KNOW
If it were up to John Candy, he would have had one less scene in his career.
In the new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, the actor’s friends and colleagues reflect on his legacy, his comedic mindset and his body image. A vintage clip in the documentary shows Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 44, admitting “it hurts sometimes” and that “people treat you differently” because of body size.
One example came in 1981’s Stripes, where Candy’s character mud wrestles with several women. The Uncle Buck star hated that scene.
“He was very upset about Stripes, the scene that he had in the mud,” Candy’s friend and former collaborator, Andrew Alexander, says in the documentary.
Pal David Thomas added, “I was the emcee in the wrestling match, which he did not want to do. It was like, John take off your shirt and roll around in the mud with a bunch of strippers. John wore a long-sleeve T-shirt top because he wouldn’t go completely bare-chested.”
Bill Murray, who also starred in Stripes with Candy, echoed those thoughts, indicating it was well known that the Planes, Trains and Automobiles actor had a strong dislike for the scene.
“The women got into it. They were all fit. They started pulling his ears and stuff. People would take a little advantage because they’d think you could do what you want to hurt him,” Murray said in the documentary. “[They’d think that] he’s so big, I couldn’t possibly hurt him. He didn’t like that, he didn’t enjoy that. I understood that.”
The documentary, which premiered Sept. 4 at the Toronto International Film Festival, details Candy as a man who struggled with the spotlight and the media’s perception of his weight.
“Tell me, inside John Candy, is there really a ‘lean, mean fighting machine,’ dying to get out?” one journalist asked him, referring to a quote from Stripes. Candy asserts, “No, there isn’t. I’m quite happy the way I am.”
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The journalist goes on, telling Candy, “You’re very handsome. But, I wondered if you did indeed become a leading man, svelte-look guy…don’t you think everyone loves a fat man?”
The Emmy winner replies, “Um, I guess. I don’t know. They’re harmless. I’m not sure. If I lost a lot of weight, I don’t think it would affect me that much.”
John Candy: I Like Me is directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds.
