I have been having a moment of doubt recently, wondering what I am doing in life? worrying that I am not writing this book fast enough or that I am going to let Mr Candy down.
John struggled with these issues too, he would take rejection to heart and wear it like a covered up tattoo he never wanted to show.Lorne Michaels (Creator and Producer of Saturday Night Live) went down to The Old Firehall in Toronto to watch John, Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty perform as part of the legendary improv group, Second City. Lorne had gone to scout for new talent after Chevy Chase had left SNL and John was desperate to impress. As it was, nerves got the better of them and they performed a terrible show. Joe and Dave brushed it off but John hung around to see what Lorne thought. Lorne told him " don't give up the day job", that cut him like a knife, he was crushed. Dave Thomas told me that John was so giving, that he would also get hurt more than most as he would put himself out there. Luckily the faith others had in him and his talent kept him going. Of course Lorne couldn't have been more wrong and John later starred in Saturday Night Live on a couple of occasions as a guest host.
From talking to Tommy Swerdlow (Writer on Cool Runnings) I know that even when John's career was going well he still struggled with insecurity. This is probably one of the reasons that he came across as so human and was so widely loved. In his personal life he never wanted anyone to feel the same hurt he had experienced, if you were his friend he would go to the end of the earth to protect you.
This week I have seen people around me take some knocks, sometimes I think life sends us these trials to make us more determined and give us focus on what we really want.
Never give up if you really want something, there is nothing to fear except fear itself.
I wonder how many people give up on their dreams? I am so glad John never did.
Enduring emotional pain early in life, I believe, can make a person more sensitive to the pain of others. Often, it can lead to overly sensitive adults. John was both: sensitive to others and overly sensitive himself. As you say, this was evident in most of his roles. Fragility in others often brings out the best in us and we relate very strongly to that humanity. John was able to imbue his characters wuth the qualities which mske us wantbto take him home and tuck him into a warm bed.
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