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Top John Candy Moments

John Candy was one of the best-loved film comedians of the 80s and early 90s, who passed away prematurely on March 4, 1994. But in his 43 years, he made the world laugh. A lot. In tribute of the great man, here are his Top 10 Moments...

His Top 10 Moments

1. Those aren’t PILLOWS!!! in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

It would have been easy to populate at least half this list with Planes, Trains & Automobiles scenes alone, maybe even the whole thing. But this has to be the moment when the entire, odd-couple, awkwardness of Steve Martin and John Candy’s enforced cross-country nightmare journey erupts – after an unwitting motel-room snuggle. “See that Bears game last week?” “Helluva game, helluva game…”

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2. An interview with the school Principal in Uncle Buck (1989)

Not exactly at ease with his newfound responsibilities anyway, Candy’s Uncle Buck then faces the dreaded parent-teacher conference. He’s desperate to make a good impression, but can’t drag his attention from Principal Horgarth’s facial growth. “I’m Buck Melanoma, Moley Russell’s Wart,” he says, before her horridness about his niece Maizy drives Buck to (verbal) attack as the best form of defence.

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3. Words of wisdom to Derice in Cool Runnings (1993)

This movie belongs to the quartet of Jamaican athletes plunged into the winter Olympics deep-freeze, but the redemption of Candy’s disgraced former bobsled winner, who reluctantly becomes their coach, is its beating heart. His adapted Lord’s Prayer is great (“Our Father, who art in Calgary, Bobsled be thy name…”), but the biggest moment is a quiet one: giving words of hard-earned wisdom to team lead Derice on the eve of race-day.

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4. Interrogated by Macaulay Culkin in Uncle Buck (1989)

Another Candy film chock full of great comedy, but this is the second favourite that rises above his dancing, teeing off at Bug or cooking up a storm for breakfast – a year before Home Alone cemented Macaulay Culkin as a household name, he faced off with Candy in this superb interrogation scene: Where do you live? In the city. You have a house? Apartment. Own or rent? Rent… What's your record for consecutive questions asked? 38.

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5. Doing the Mess Around in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

And here’s the second moment from P,T&A. Saddled with Candy’s Del Griffith (Curtain-ring salesman) but exhausted, Martin’s Neal Page nods off in the passenger seat of the pair’s rental car. It’s dark, Del’s bored, but when Ray Charles’ Mess Around comes on the radio, Del boogies and plays dashboard keys. His wild swerving somehow doesn’t lead to disaster. His carelessly flicked cigarette butt however, is another matter.

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6. Losing his merkin in Who’s Harry Crumb? (1989)

As detective Harry Crumb, our hero goes undercover at a day spa in the guise of their supposed vice president, the flamboyant Djour Djilios (Could you spell that?, the receptionist asks. "I don't think so,” he replies. “Try it with a D.") Crumb is checking out their full body mud treatment on a sleeping woman, when his chest hair wig falls off onto her, erm, special place. He grabs it quick and reapplies it – to his face...

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7. Under a door that’s under a grizzly bear in The Great Outdoors (1988)

There are a good few moments to choose from in this culture clash comedy, when arrogant yuppie Dan Aykroyd and his brood gatecrash Candy’s genial family holiday in the great outdoors. Aykroyd piloting the speedboat that drags the big man around the lake on water-skis is a contender, but it’s probably pipped by the bear, and the door, and the bouncing…

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8. Mud-wrestling in Stripes (1981)

It’s a reasonable bet that Candy himself would rate this as a memorable scene. On their first leave at a bar, Bill Murray stokes fellow US Army recruit Candy into getting involved and he rises to the bait: stripping down (though, thankfully, not going commando) and sprawling about in a mud-filled wrestling ring, getting grappled (ie his ass kicked) by five agile women wearing not very many clothes. Spectacular!

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9. Cameoing as a lawyer in JFK (1991)

Director Oliver Stone always had Candy in mind for this extended cameo role, and he excels as a rather eccentric lawyer hauled into Kevin Costner's investigation of Kennedy's assassination (and the supposed 'Magic Bullet' theory). It's a dramatic role that Candy carries off with comfort and conviction, so we'd probably have seen much more of this sort of acting had he not been taken too soon.

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10. With Richard Pryor in Brewster’s Millions (1985)

In order to inherit a vast fortune, a man must first spend 30 million dollars in thirty days. He may not give it away, and at the end of the thirty days, no tangible assets may remain. The bar fight that lands second-rate baseball players Richard Pryor and John Candy in jail is pretty good, but it's well worth seeing every scene and moment, just to catch two comedy legends together on screen.

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Darren Bignell