John Candy was one of the most successful stars of his generation, winning millions of fans all over the world with his stellar acting and comedic timing.
But the acting legend’s vibrant life and career would be prematurely cut short.
On March 4, 1994, he was cruelly struck down by a massive heart attack aged just 43, leaving behind a young family and a world in mourning.
His breakout role came when he played Tom Hanks‘s character’s womanizing brother in 1984’s Splash, which garnered universal acclaim.
Candy was already an Emmy Award winner, and thanks to turns in blockbusters including Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Cool Runnings and Home Alone, he was a force to be reckoned with in 1990s Hollywood.
Candy also had a happy home life, having been married to Rosemary Margaret Hobor since 1979, with whom he had two children – although his hectic filming schedule kept him away from his loved ones much longer than he wanted.
John Candy (pictured with his Emmy in 1983) was one of the most successful stars of his generation, winning fans all over the world with his stellar acting and comedic timing
But the acting legend’s vibrant life and career would be prematurely cut short. In 1994 he was cruelly struck down by a massive heart attack aged just 43, leaving behind a young family and a world in mourning (pictured in his final days filming Wagons East)
His breakout role came when he played Tom Hanks’s character’s womanizing brother in Splash, which garnered universal acclaim in 1984
But behind the scenes, Candy was fighting battles far removed from his giddy onscreen personas.
His own father – Sidney James Candy – died of complications from heart disease at age 35 in 1955 when the actor had just turned five, leaving him with a sense he was doomed from an early age.
‘He felt he had inherited in his genes a Damoclean sword,’ Carl Reiner, who directed Candy in 1985’s Summer Rental, told People.
‘It didn’t matter what he did.’
Candy struggled with obesity throughout his life – at his heaviest and at the time of his death, he reportedly weighed more than 375lbs.
He openly spoke about his battles with anxiety and panic attacks, using food, alcohol, and smoking as well as reported drug use as ways to cope.
Candy first shot to fame via his work as a member of Toronto’s branch of improv comedy group The Second City in 1972.
He then joined the cast on Toronto-based comedy variety show Second City Television, which was picked up by NBC in 1981 and became a huge hit.
The show won Emmy Awards in 1981 and 1982 for its writing.
Candy appeared in a number of comedies throughout his career, including Spaceballs in 1987.
Candy was married to Rosemary Margaret Hobor (pictured in 1991) and had two young children
Candy’s beloved children Jennifer and Chris were just 14 and nine when he died
He played the lovable Uncle Buck in the 1989 film of the same name alongside Macaulay Culkin, Jean Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann
He won legions of fans for his role as shower curtain salesman Del Griffith in 1987 classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles (pictured with co-star Steve Martin)
Candy (pictured in 1993) struggled with obesity throughout his life – at his heaviest and at the time of his death, he reportedly weighed more than 375lbs
His Home Alone co-star Catherine O’Hara recalled a phone call in which Candy spoke of an ominous feeling about travelling to Mexico to film final film Wagons East. He reportedly told her: ‘I don’t want to go down there’ as he felt ‘something bad is going to happen there’
The star played bobsled icon Irving ‘Irv’ Blitzer in 1993’s Cool Runnings – seen with Doug E. Doug, Leon, Rawle D. Lewis and Malik Yoba
He had a minor, yet important, role as the ‘Polka King of the Midwest’ in Home Alone. His character Gus Polinski helps reunite Kevin with his mother, making for a happy ending.
He starred alongside Macaulay Culkin in the 1989 film Uncle Buck before they were reunited on the set of the holiday classic.
He won legions of fans for his role as shower curtain salesman Del Griffith in 1987 classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The film follows anxious and stern businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin) who is trying to get home to see his family in Chicago.
Stuck in an airport lounge in Kansas after an emergency landing, Page has to befriend Griffith so he will let him stay the night in a rundown motel.
Together the two of them, from wildly different social classes, have to overcome their intense dislike of each other and get Page home.
At the time the film received critical acclaim, with Candy being nominated for an American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture the following year.
As his star grew, the actor would routinely turn to fitness and a healthier lifestyle in a bid to get his weight down – before returning to his previous unhealthy habits, including a fondness for pierogi dumplings.
Candy’s final day was spent filming – with the star wrapping his work at 10pm. He enjoyed a spaghetti dinner before retiring for the night. The next day, his concerned bodyguard let himself into the room and found Candy dead from a heart attack
Both Wagons East and his final completed film Canadian Bacon are dedicated to the star (pictured in Canadian Bacon with Rhea Perlman)
His funeral was held on March 9, 1994, at St. Martin of Tours church, Brentwood, California. Dan Aykroyd, Candy’s co-star in 1988’s The Great Outdoors, delivered the eulogy
He admitted to People in 1981 that he was affected by cruel jibes about his size, saying: ‘Sure, I’m sensitive about my weight. I don’t do fat jokes. I’m the one who has to look in the mirror and after a while it begins to eat at you.
‘I know what I have to do if I want to lose weight and stay healthy: eat a proper diet and exercise. All I’ve got to do is apply it.’
After starring in 1981’s Stripes, in which he played a recruit hoping to lose weight, he refused to do any more roles ridiculing his size.
While filming Summer Rental in 1984 with Reiner, who ensured healthy food was prepared for him on set, Candy checked into the Pritikin Longevity Center weight loss clinic in Santa Monica for a month.
He later threw himself into a healthy lifestyle with a personal trainer, and lost 75lbs that summer.
However, he would soon slip back into his unhealthy diet amid a battle with anxiety.
Reiner said: ‘For a while he would eat nice but then he would say, “Let’s go have a bucket of shrimp.”‘
Candy previously revealed he was too anxious to watch his films because he was ‘too critical of himself’ and said he was ‘choked up’ and ‘intimidated’ when he appeared on The Tonight Show.
Chevy Chase was among the celebrity mourners at Candy’s funeral at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Brentwood on March 9, 1994 – he starred with Candy in National Lampoon’s Vacation in 1983
Candy was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, in Culver City, California
Producer Peter Kaminsky said: ‘Eating, ingesting, smoking. For John, it was a way of swallowing that anxiety.’
After suffering from panic attacks after the age of 40, Candy began seeing a therapist who taught him coping mechanisms to manage his anxiety.
In 2019 documentary Autopsy: John Candy, it was claimed Candy had been smoking ‘a pack of cigarettes a day’ from when he was ’17 or 18′.
Dr. Michael Hunter, a renowned forensic pathologist, also claimed: ‘I think it’s probable that John’s addiction to smoking was a factor in his death. But John appears to have a history of use of another drug that is also known to have a damaging impact on the heart — and that’s cocaine.’
It was previously claimed Candy had quit using cocaine after the death of John Belushi from a cocaine and heroin overdose in 1982 aged 33.
Candy officially quit smoking just a few months before his death.
In December 1993 Candy would travel to Durango, Mexico to film Western comedy Wagons East – which would be his final movie.
His Home Alone co-star and SCTV alum Catherine O’Hara recalled a phone call in which Candy spoke of an ominous feeling about travelling to Mexico.
He reportedly told her: ‘I don’t want to go down there’ as he felt ‘something bad is going to happen there’.
His final day was spent filming – the star wrapped his work at 10pm, with only two more scenes left to shoot before Candy could finally return home to California.
He also spoke to his beloved family. His son Chris, then aged just nine, recalled their final conversation to THR, saying: ‘I remember talking to him the night before he passed away and he said, “I love you and goodnight.” And I will always remember that.’
His daughter Jennifer, then 14, said: ‘So I was talking to him on the phone, and, I hate this, but I was slightly distant because I was studying. So I was like, “Yeah, OK, I love you. I will talk to you later. Have a great night.” Then I hang up, and I go back to studying.’
Candy enjoyed a Mexican spaghetti dinner with his crew before retiring for the night to the Camino del Perque hotel.
His final words to a night watchman at the hotel were reportedly: ‘I’m so tired. All I want to do is go home and be with my family.’
Candy took a shower at 11pm and went to bed. This was the final time anyone saw him alive.
The next day, his concerned bodyguard let himself into the room after failing to reach him by phone.
He found Candy ‘half in and half out of bed’, clad in a long red and black checked nightshirt.
Candy was pronounced dead at 9am due to a massive heart attack. His widow asked for no autopsy to be conducted.
His funeral was held on March 9, 1994, at St. Martin of Tours church, in Brentwood, California.
Dan Aykroyd delivered the eulogy, and mourners included Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Rick Moranis, Jim Belushi, Martin Short, George Wendt, Rhea Perlman, Bill Murray, and Ed Harris.
Candy was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, in Culver City, California.
Wagons East, released five months after his death, was completed via script re-writes, a stand-in and special effects.
Both Wagons East and his final completed film Canadian Bacon (1995) are dedicated to the star.
A documentary, titled John Candy: I Like Me and directed by his co-star Tom Hanks’s son Colin, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. The film was made with the full backing of Candy’s widow Rosemary and children Jennifer, 45, and Chris, 40 (pictured September 2025)
More than three decades after his death, Candy’s memory lives on stronger than ever.
A documentary, titled John Candy: I Like Me and directed by his co-star Tom Hanks’ son Colin, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this month.
The film, made with the full backing of Candy’s widow Rosemary and children Jennifer, 45, and Chris, 40, charts Candy’s rise to fame and tragic death.
The documentary also features never-before-seen home videos, archives and family interviews.
