{"id":981827,"date":"2026-08-05T07:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/981827\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T07:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:18:21","slug":"john-candys-family-opens-up-about-beauty-pain-of-i-like-me-doc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/981827\/","title":{"rendered":"John Candy’s family opens up about beauty, pain of ‘I Like Me’ doc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rosemary Candy married John Candy all the way back in 1979, but even she learned something new about her late husband in the documentary \u201cJohn Candy: I Like Me.\u201d<\/a> In an archived TV interview, John said he didn\u2019t think his blind date initially liked him, adding, \u201cBut I was going to show her \u2014 \u2018How dare you not like me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosemary, in her first interview for the Emmy-nominated Prime Video documentary, confessed she had never seen this before the film. \u201cIt was so funny, this idea of \u2018I don\u2019t think she liked me, but I was going to make her like me,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAs soon as I started to get to know him, I was head over heels for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As was the world. The star of \u201cUncle Buck\u201d and \u201cSCTV\u201d<\/a> was so beloved that the film\u2019s director, Colin Hanks<\/a>, was concerned that too many people would want to participate. Ontario-born Candy was such an icon that when the film was selected to open last year\u2019s Toronto International Film Festival<\/a>, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a surprise appearance to introduce it. To put it in terms Angelenos will appreciate: He was so legendary that during his funeral procession, the LAPD and California Highway Patrol shut down portions of the 405 Freeway.<\/p>\n

Candy died of a heart attack in March 1994<\/a>, at 43; the service was held just around the corner from his Brentwood home, where Rosemary still resides and her late husband\u2019s presence still fills the house. Personal photos are displayed throughout, his beloved leather-bound books fill the library, and a wide range of memorabilia occupies the office. But the largest reminder of his legacy are his children, Chris Candy and Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, who not only bear a striking resemblance to their parents, but also exude their warmth and spirit.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Candy family: Jennifer, left, Rosemary, Chris and John.<\/p>\n

(Chris Candy)<\/p>\n

The Candy family are a tight-knit group, so the choice to participate in a documentary was a group decision. For years, they said no, aside from Rosemary contributing to an A&E Biography and the 2011 doc \u201cJohn Candy: True Double Blue,\u201d which focused on his love for the Toronto Argonauts football team. \u201cIt was a combination of we weren\u2019t ready and we felt the story had been told,\u201d said Chris. They also caught wind of unauthorized projects, even a potential biopic \u2014 which they were completely against. \u201cAn actor that had been approached came to us and said, \u2018I would love to, but if you guys aren\u2019t on board, I\u2019m not doing it,\u2019\u201d revealed Jennifer.<\/p>\n

Things changed in 2019, when fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds reached out about making a video for social media in honor of the 25th anniversary of Candy\u2019s death. Response to the post was so overwhelming, Reynolds suggested a documentary. Then the pandemic hit and the sense of urgency accelerated. \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018People aren\u2019t getting any younger,\u2019\u201d said Chris. \u201cAnd hearing about those other attempts at films reminded us we had a chance to tell things our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family approached Hanks, impressed by documentaries he had previously made about Tower Records and the band Eagles of Death Metal. As it happens, they first met the filmmaker more than 40 years ago at a barbecue, shortly after Hanks\u2019 father, Tom, shot the 1984 comedy \u201cSplash\u201d with John, and their lives had intersected over the years. \u201cI would say we were friendly but not friends,\u201d said Chris. \u201cWhich, in a way, gave him the perfect distance to do his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rosemary <\/p>\n

Rosemary Candy, center, with children Chris and Jennifer.<\/p>\n

(Christopher Patey \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

The Candy family had just two requests. One was that they wanted people who actually met him to be interviewed \u2014 thus an anecdote from Conan O\u2019Brien, who was a Harvard student when he encountered Candy, is included alongside reminiscences by friends and co-stars like Eugene Levy and Catherine O\u2019Hara.<\/p>\n

The second was that they didn\u2019t want a sanitized telling, what Jennifer refers to as the \u201ctoo nice\u201d version \u2014 although the film does open with Bill Murray joking that his \u201cStripes\u201d co-star was so lovable, it will be hard to find \u201cany dirt on him\u201d to make the film interesting. They wanted to grapple as well with John\u2019s struggles, such as his unresolved grief over losing his father at an early age and his awareness of his own mortality. John also battled with the pressures of Hollywood and chronic anxiety, something not openly talked about at that time.<\/p>\n

Then there was also the public focus on his weight: how the business loved his jovial big guy persona, but he endured thoughtless interview questions about his appearance, such as, \u201cDon\u2019t you think that everyone loves a fat man? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see some of those interviews and you hold your breath,\u201d said Rosemary. \u201cYou can see how hurt he is by them.\u201d Echoed Chris, \u201cI had never seen some of those, and their inclusion was probably the most effective part of the movie for me.\u201d Jennifer added that some of the journalists sent apology letters at the time: \u201cI think that shows how highly they thought of him and how bad they felt when they realized he was genuinely hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, the film celebrates the man and his achievements. It\u2019s a legacy that continues to this day: As the Candy family sat down for this interview, Josh Gad announced at San Diego Comic-Con that he would not be taking over Candy\u2019s role in \u201cSpaceballs\u201d for the upcoming sequel. \u201cThat is a role that is singularly played and will only ever be played by one person, John Candy,\u201d Gad told the crowd. \u201cJohn is at the beating heart of this film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John <\/p>\n

John Candy, left, and Steve Martin star in the 1987 movie \u201cPlanes, Trains and Automobiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Paramount Pictures)<\/p>\n

The family watched the video of Gad\u2019s tribute and the raucous applause that followed. \u201cThat\u2019s so sweet,\u201d Rosemary said in response, as Chris and Jennifer\u2019s phones blew up with texts telling them about the panel.<\/p>\n

So while the title of the doc is taken from John\u2019s heartbreaking speech in \u201cPlanes, Trains and Automobiles,\u201d they appreciate its multiple meanings. They know that John was not just liked, but loved, by everyone, including himself. Rosemary recalls once catching him looking into a hand mirror. \u201cI think he was trying on mustaches or something, but he stopped and really looked at himself,\u201d she revealed. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018I\u2019m beautiful.\u2019 And he meant it. So the title is a tribute and a genuine affirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rosemary Candy married John Candy all the way back in 1979, but even she learned something new about…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":981828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[185,111011,394141,110673,104008,3192,171,246,1020,70001,394140,111012,48264,13940,27894,394139,67,132,68,14164],"class_list":["post-981827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-chris-candy","tag-co-star","tag-colin-hanks","tag-doc","tag-documentary","tag-entertainment","tag-family","tag-film","tag-first-interview","tag-jennifer-candy-sullivan","tag-john-candy","tag-josh-gad","tag-last-year","tag-many-people","tag-rosemary-candy","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-way"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117041688322027454","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/981828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}