This year I have had the huge honour of interviewing many people including leg-ends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. Some of my favourite stories however have come from crew members - those who worked with John closely behind the scenes and had so much respect for the friendship and warmth they were shown by him.
Of course I can't mention John Candy and Christmas without mentioning Home Alone "Polka, polka, polka" (and I do have stories about that shoot) but I was wanting to give you another Christmas story...
Rick Lazzarini who built and controlled John's ears when he was playing Barf in Spaceballs gave me a lovely festive memory of John.
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John and Rick. Copyright Rick Lazzarini 1986 |
'So, Rick, you're good with mechanical stuff, right?'
'Yeah, I think so!'
'Well, can you come on over to my office? I need you to build something for me…'
With everything he had done for me, the answer was: 'Of course!. No question.'
So I made my way to his Santa Monica office, where he greeted me warmly.
'I got this thing for my son Christopher. I dunno how to put it together!'
It was a metal tractor, the pedal kind, nicely crafted, solid, but it needed assembly.
'You
got it!' I said, and immediately started in on putting it together. It
was for a Christmas present, and right around the holidays, and so John put on some Christmas music. He asked:
'Do you want some wine?'
'Sure!'
So
we chatted, drinking wine, he behind his desk with his feet up on it,
me sitting cross-legged on the floor, putting Tab A into Slot B and
aligning holes so screw C could thread in.
And
so…we talked, joked, laughed, sipped, dished, cozy,
the red tractor coming into shape as we shared and joshed and enjoyed
each other's company.
I haven't yet met another actor, much less a human being, with John's capacity to fill the people around him with such joy. God bless him. He was wonderful. I miss him so."

So eat, drink, be merry, love those around you and spare a thought for those not as fortunate. Next year I will aim to be a better person, I will aim to love people and life as much as John did.
Lots of love
Tracey x