Going Berserk came out the same year, a film picked up by Universal, written by David Steinberg and Dana Olson, directed by Steinberg. John played one of the lead characters John Bourgignon, a limo driver marrying Nancy Reese, played by Alley Mills (The Wonder Years) and starring alongside his pals Joe Flaherty and Eugene Levy. Although it wasn’t a great hit it kind of paved the way for what was to come. It was around this time that John first met Frankie Hernandez. Hernandez had been working in Hollywood and took a young John under his wing, he showed John how in Hollywood size meant something and before you knew it John was taken out of his Honey Wagon (a dressing room the size of a closet) and given a star’s trailer. From this meeting onwards, Hernandez would be John’s faithful companion throughout his career, although he was called John’s driver, he wasn’t, someone else did the driving, but Hernandez took care of John’s every need.
Later that year, John got a call about a film called Ghostbusters, written by his Second City alumni Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, and being directed by Ivan Reitman. The part was written specifically with John in mind, they wanted him to play Louis Tully, the nerdy accountant. Sadly, creative differences and negotiations kind of got in the way and John dipped out, the part, as you probably know, went to Rick Moranis, who John stated “did a great job”. John was still in the music video for the Ghostbusters theme by Ray Parker Jr. You might think John had made a terrible mistake, however it was important he was true to himself, plus he had bigger fish to fry.
John’s career picked up momentum in movie land, the critics really sat up when he co-starred alongside Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah and Eugene Levy in Splash. It was Ron Howard’s directing debut and the first film to be brought out on Touchstone - a subsidiary of Disney that allowed them to do more grown-up films. The film was a real collaborative effort, Ron Howard was well known as playing Opie on the Andy Griffith Show as well as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, so he was a director with an actor’s soul. John could not believe he was working with ‘Opie’, Tom Hanks could not believe he was working with John and Eugene Levy, he was a huge fan of SCTV and had to stop himself “from foaming all over them”, for Hanks this was his first movie role and he was taking the lead. Originally John wanted the role of Dr Walter Kornbluth, the crazy scientist, however Howard persuaded him he was ideal for the part of Freddie Bauer who was the older brother of Allen, played by Hanks. Maybe in the eyes of some this was an usual pairing for brothers but the chemistry and the polar opposites of character roles really complimented each other and were totally believable.
The premise of the story is that Allen falls in love with a mermaid called Madison (played by Hannah). When Allen was only 8 years old, he had fallen in the sea and was saved by a mermaid (a young Madison). Years later destiny brings them together again (although Allen is unaware they have met before), he falls in love, not realising that Madison is actually a mermaid, Dr Walter Kornbluth played by Levy seeks to out her secret. Levy was given the part after John suggested him for the role.
John played the womanising brother who had been married several times, liked to play hard and was basically Johnny La Rue but with heart. Although he didn’t have many scenes, he made every moment on camera count, he had such a talent for enhancing every scene and bringing his character to life without detriment to his fellow actors, in fact he would always play the part to complement them.
There is one scene where Allen and Freddie are playing racquetball, Freddie has been playing for five minutes when he stops to have a smoke and a beer, he then goes on to tell Allen he’s going to teach him a lesson in humility as he continues the game. Freddie (John) hits the racquetball and it rebounds off the wall and hits Freddie smack in the middle of his forehead. John was so happy that he managed to do that scene on just the third take. He said he smiled to himself, then he remembered he had to drop down to the floor else the scene could not be used, so he dived and it hurt, but he said it was worth it, “the crew applauded me and we went home early that day” he remembered in an interview.
Jill Jacobson was an extra in the movie, in the bar scene where Allen is extremely drunk, Freddie helps him fall off the bar, picks him up whilst hitting Allen’s head and then chases after two beautiful ladies - Jacobson was one of them. The whole scene is perfect, it’s only 3 minutes and 41 seconds long, however Jacobson told me that it took 14 hours to shoot, mainly because Howard was a perfectionist and wanted to get it just right. Jacobson originally thought John Candy was going to be completely different to the man she met, “I was quite surprised that he was the gentleman he was, I had a weird idea of him that he might have been a bit of a sleaze, but he was so not that, he couldn’t have been kinder or sweeter. During breaks we would just hang out and talk. Tom Hanks at that stage was a tougher nut to crack, he was quite protective and not as open as John, but this was Tom’s first movie. John was just so grateful for the work and to be there, I have met a lot of prima donnas in my time who would hold things up because they didn’t want to do the scene again. John was just keen every time and happy to work over and over”.
It was after Splash was released that John Candy’s fame was cemented. Martyn Burke remembers, “He told me the story about when he realised he was famous. He said he was over in Amsterdam at the Anne Frank house, where Anne Frank lived before she was captured by the Nazis and he said everyone was staring at him, everybody was talking about him. He said that’s where he realised he was famous, ‘these people, these Dutch people, tourists who I had never seen before, all knew me. I realised that is when my life had changed.’ And it did change.”
Splash was one of the tenth highest grossing films of 1984 , making over US$69 million.
I’m still a Million Bucks Short…
One night Eugene Levy and John were in a hotel room watching late night TV, when a polka duo came on. They both found this really amusing, thought they looked like a couple of ‘shmenges’ (a mutual friend of theirs used to call everyone ‘shmenge’ and they thought it was a funny word) and a lightbulb went off in their heads. They wrote that night and The Shmenge Brothers were created. Yosh (John) and Stan (Levy) Shmenge, who were a polka duo from Leutonia - Yosh on Clarinet and Stan on the accordion, their band was called The Happy Wanderers and they had hits such as “Cabbage Roll and Coffee Polka”. They forgot they had written these characters for around six months until they needed some material for SCTV. They also made a funny mockumentary about the band called The Last Polka that was aired on TV in 1984, filmed in just a week, many of the Second City alumni featured in it.
Also filmed in 1984 and released in 1985, Candy co-starred alongside influential and controversial comedian, Richard Pryor, in Brewster’s Millions. This movie was the seventh time this story, originally written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, was adapted for the big screen. Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris, (both of whom worked on Trading Places and Kindergarten Cop), wrote the screenplay and Walter Hill (48 Hrs) directed.
The story is about Montgomery (Monty) Brewster (played by Pryor), a happy go lucky bum, who has the chance to inherit a large sum of money from a distant relative. He is set a challenge to spend US$30 million in 30 days without telling anyone why, if he manages the challenge and is penniless with nothing ‘just the clothes on his back’ he inherits US$300 million. John plays Monty’s best friend, Spike Nolan. They both play for the Hackensack Bulls, a minor league baseball team. Along the way Monty meets and falls in love with Angela Drake played by Lonette McKee, his straight laced accountant that berates his frivolous spending.
John wanted the part of Spike Nolan after hearing Richard Pryor was the lead and Walter Hill was directing. He went to see Hill on the set of Streets of Fire. Hill told John that he would love to have him in the picture as he was a huge fan of John’s and SCTV, he said “I'm afraid the way the script stands there isn't much for you to do. But I'll do my best to expand the part for you."[2]
Brewster’s is also the first glimpse of a more svelte John, after he lost 60 pounds by s
pending a month at Pritikin’s Longevity Centre in Santa Monica, laying off alcohol and red meat. He also went cycling every day. After the loss of John Belushi in 1982, which had a huge impact on John, he figured he needed to look after himself a little better and “get healthy”.
It was also the first film Richard Pryor featured in since he had survived a horrific freebasing cocaine accident in 1980, where he was left with third degree burns over his torso and fighting for his life. Pryor had gone through a gruelling recovery, several times a day he was moved into a whirlpool bath where a mixture of hot water and antiseptic would be washed over his burnt body, his torso would be painted with silver sulfadiazine cream to ward off infection and he spent hours in a hyperbaric chamber – a vessel that would force oxygen into the body helping it to heal. On top of that he underwent surgery and was fighting a case of pneumonia. The doctors were also worried that the stress on his body might cause another heart attack following the one he had in 1977, so he was a true survivor in that sense.
Pryor has always reportedly been hard to work with, Gene Wilder had amazing chemistry on screen with Pryor but later stated in his book Kiss Me Like a Stranger that Pryor was easily offended even when none was meant, and that filming schedules were often done on Pryor’s time, not anyone else’s. Lorne Frohman, John’s early writing partner, worked on The Richard Pryor Show just after Brewster’s Millions and told me, “Richard was a tough guy to get along with, there was a big wall, I don’t think anybody is going to argue that. The way you would penetrate a relationship with him was through good writing”. However, Lonette McKee had worked with Pryor before on a film called Which Way is Up, so had known the comedian for a long time. McKee told me that John and Richard got on very well during filming, “Richard was always warm, kind and very friendly towards me and John” but she also acknowledged he had changed a little “I think because of his near-death experience in the fire, Richard had become somewhat withdrawn and reclusive; as anyone would after such a thing.”
The first time McKee met John was during wardrobe fittings with Costume Designer, Marilyn Vance and Director, Walter Hill at Universal Studios. “What I noticed about John at first was that he was a very sharp dresser. Much like his character, ‘Spike’, in the film, he was snazzy. He was also very warm and engaging. I liked him immediately.”
Filming started in Los Angeles in April ’84, they had to finish on location in LA by the end of July so it they didn’t interfere with the Summer Olympics. Location filming was concluded in New York City, wrapping in August. The Hackensack Bull scenes were actually filmed on a pitch called Bluebird Field in Sun Valley, the field, which is no longer there, was originally built and used for a show called Bay City Blues that was based on a fictional minor league team by the same name, it was later used by local schools for their respective teams.
Princess Anne was touring the US whilst Brewster’s was being filmed and was going to have a cameo in a scene with Richard Pryor, however the scene was filmed the day before she arrived. She was greeted and shown around by John and Joel Silver (one of the producers), they discussed many things including a recent fire that had broken out in Pinewood Studios, England.
Throughout filming John continued to follow the Pritikin diet and also had a treadmill in his mobile home, you could stop by and there would be all sorts of interesting people visiting him, frequent visitors included Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams. The hard part about a diet is not being tempted by anything else, although John was very focused at this time, he was still John, such a generous host would no doubt have a plethora of treats to offer any passing guest, everyone was made welcome and always felt valued in John’s company.
There was plenty of laughter on set, a lot of retakes due to the cast corpsing, Walter Hill was very understanding and considered it part of working with two comedic geniuses. McKee commented that, “There was a lot of laughing and talking and interaction between John and Richard on set. I felt very close to both men and they clearly liked one another and enjoyed each other’s company and humour.”
McKee is an animal lover and activist and she discussed their mutual love of animals with John. Whilst filming was taking place at Universal Studios McKee wrote an irate and strongly worded letter to the management of the studios as she had heard they were putting tar traps in the parking lot to control the pigeons, “I got Richard and John to actually sign the letter before I sent it. Someone has to speak up for the misbegotten.”
John would leave a lasting impression on McKee. “John exemplified a kind-hearted and gifted person with a magnanimous and generous spirit. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a genius and such a wonderful soul.”
23rd September 1984 John’s family was complete when his son, Christopher, was born. From watching interviews of John talking about his family I know he felt just so fortunate, they were the best thing that ever happened to him.
Summer Rental
In 1985 John received a phone call, he was asked to play the lead in a film called Summer Rental, the role was Jack Chester - a stressed out air traffic controller that was advised to take a break with his family. Comedy legend, Carl Reiner, had been approached to direct, he said he would do it if John played the lead, so they both agreed to do the project and John was thrilled to be working with such a king of comedy, saying, “I couldn’t believe I was working with Alan Brady from The Dick Van Dyke Show”. It was also John’s first lead role.
Reiner told me, “I said ‘I will do it, if he does it’, I knew it needed a major comedy mind like that, otherwise it would not work. Even as small as it was, it was just a darling film to watch.
"I was waiting to do more movies with him, I said, ‘Gee this is such a great experience, I have got to find something else for us to do’ and I was actually looking for something else.”
(By the way, Reiner was 92 when I interviewed him, his memory is just astounding! Far superior to mine and I’m less than half his age, just remarkable!).
Chester’s wife, Sandy was played by Karen Austin, the children - Jennifer, Bobby and Laurie played by Kerri Green (who starred in The Goonies the same year), Joey Lawrence and Aubrey Jene respectively. Rip Torn also co-stars in the film as a Richard Scully, the rip off owner of a boat restaurant that eventually befriends Candy’s character.
The movie was shot in St. Pete Beach, near St Petersburg, Florida and the whole thing was filmed and wrapped in less than 3 months! There was even budget left over - a complete rarity for Hollywood. The film for me was a strange one, the first time I watched it I found it a little disjointed, on second viewing I loved it, I have heard others say the same, you will find out why a little later on in this chapter.
Reiner said, “To direct, John was just a joy. Every day on the set we had so much fun. We had Rip Torn with us who was such a pain in the ass, we rallied against him, he was a funny pain in the ass. I remember at the wrap party Rip Torn had given us both so much trouble, he wanted a different boat to the boat that we had. But at the end he toasted John and myself and said he had never worked with nicer people and said to me ‘I have never worked with a nicer director, I had a wonderful time on this picture’ and I said, ‘well I didn’t as I had to direct Rip Torn!’ John thought that was hysterical, he didn’t think I would dare to say that.”
Karen Austin, John’s on screen wife, spoke to me about her time working with John;
“It was my first feature film experience it was the first time I was above the titles so I was very nervous. Although it was hard to stay nervous working with both John and Carl Reiner, both of whom seemed to make everything like play.
“The first time I met John was at the table read and we immediately entered into a conspiracy. We knew we were going to play husband and wife and we were just like ‘oh I know you’ as if we already had a secret joke, but I think he made most people feel like that.”
Reiner cast Austin after seeing her in a play in Los Angeles, performing in front of sold-out audiences, Au
stin was playing an angry prostitute who was on trial for her sanity and bore no resemblance to the character he was casting. He obviously saw something in the actor and his instincts weren’t wrong, Austin was perfect in this movie. Austin remembers, “So I do not know what had possessed him, but I was going through a rough time in my life and I get a call from Carl saying, ‘Do you want to go to the beach with me and John Candy, a dog, a couple of kids and Richard Crenna?’ Richard Crenna and I had worked before on other projects, one where I was trying to kill him and then we did this project where he was trying to kill me, so I was thrilled to see him! When I met John it just felt like it was going to be easy, and it was, everything about it was incredibly easy.”
For Austin the three-month deadline didn’t seem that intense as she had previously done a lot of television work, so the amount of time they had seemed quite luxurious. I guess the same could be said for John and Reiner with their TV backgrounds.
Austin remembers, “We did lots and lots of improv, because of John. We would turn up on set and John would say ‘well how do we make this scene funny?’ I would say ‘here is some iced water you have to be able to do something with this’, and he would make a whole scene out of it like it had become a thing.”
One of my favourite scenes in Summer Rental was reminiscent of any child growing up in the 80s visiting a packed beach. John excelled in this scene, he was carrying the youngest child on his shoulders, trying to navigate a hot, packed beach, whilst looking for his family and carrying a cool box. In a hilariously relatable scene for any parent or child in that situation he stumbled onto people, the cool box leaking onto sunbathers and accidently putting out someone’s barbeque. You could feel the stress and pressure he was under. It reminded me of awful beach holidays, where everything would go wrong but you’d go home thinking what a nice time you had - like your brain had a filter that only remembered the good bits. Reiner told me, “That was darling, he was one of these guys that if you set up the scene he didn’t just give you what you had rehearsed but he would give you extra stuff. I was very careful to make sure I didn’t lose any of his ad libs, going in that hot sand he was hysterical, I will always remember that scene on the beach it is one of those things you don’t forget.”
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