They can kill you but they can't eat you

So recently, in terms of publishing I have decided I will self publish (unless of course a like minded publisher rears their head).

I have been told many times that John Candy is wonderful, my book will be wonderful, but unfortunately John's life is just not scandalous enough and he doesn't have a big enough following.

John Candy was one of the nicest people in Hollywood and so talented to boot! It makes me wonder when we live in a world where anyone can become a celebrity, regardless of talent, by being scandalous and outrageous, what type of message are we sending to our kids? What happened to working hard, having talent and being appreciated for that? I know some bona fide celebrities still
exist (thank God) but they seem to be getting out numbered by larger mouthed, clever, PR savvy reality stars. Please don't get me wrong, all power to them, some of them do a lot of good work and hell they are making more money than I ever will.

I am just disappointed the world would rather focus on scandal, than the life of someone who touched so many and produced such a body of work and legacy.

John took many chances in his career, he would help people out, mentor them, he was kind and gave his time to many. If you can, please help me get his biography out there.

If you would be interested in reading my work about John Candy please consider pre-ordering an advance copy so I can fund physical copies. If I don't raise the money I need by 1st March I will go back to the drawing board, I won't give up. The link is www.igg.me/at/johncandy If you can't afford to pledge you can still help by sharing the link, or consider contributing £1, every little helps.

Likewise if you see someone that has a dream you believe in, please support them. Kindness is magic and we need so much more of that in the world.

For all those having a similar struggle to myself just keep going and if nothing else tenacity will get us to where we want to go. Remember 'they can kill you but they can't eat you'... which incidentally is the title of the late Dawn Steel's book which taught me one of the most important lessons. If you can't get through the front door, go through the back door. Can't get through there then go through the window or down the chimney. Just keep going and you will find away. Dawn actually worked with John  when she produced 'Cool Runnings'. It was via her book that Ken Tipton found John Candy and asked him to be his mentor. Of course John, being John, obliged... but more about that later.

Much love to you all and thanks so much for your support
Tracey x

2015

Well Happy New Year! I hope 2014 was as good to you as it was to me. I am still a million bucks shy of being a millionaire but last year I was blessed enough to interview some fantastic people about John. I never thought he could go further up in my estimations but hearing stories I had never heard before just reaffirmed everything I knew about him and then some.

The kindness of strangers has overwhelmed me this year. There have been so many people who have gone out of their way to help and encourage me, they are paramount to this project and a testament of how much everyone who came into contact with John loved him.

Hopefully 2015 holds the book release for me (aiming for October) so I better get my head down. I have over 100,000 words in interviews alone. I have been asked a few times who have I interviewed for the book so I thought I would give you a list so far (there are more interviews in the pipeline too). These people were friends, colleagues, cast and crew, some had chance encounters with Mr Candy and every single one add colour and life to the book. I thank them all for their love and time;

Jonathan O'Mara
Ken  Tipton
Scott Edgecombe
Marty Weil
Lisa Soland
Valri Bromfield
Dave Thomas
Sheldon Patinkin (RIP)
Colleen Callaghan
Martyn Burke
Lorne Frohman
Catherine McCartney
Bruce Appleby
Trish Tervitt
Jim Henshaw
Monica Parker
Jane Tattersall
Allan O'Marra
Bruce McNall
Lonette McKee
Alexandra Bastedo (RIP)
Malik Yoba
Rawle D Lewis
Karen Austin
Jay Underwood
Gary Le Drew
Donna Meyer
Carl Reiner
Eddie Koroso
Tommy Swerdlow
Kevin Pollack
Mel Brooks
Peter Kaminsky
Charles Northcote
Leon Robinson
Rick Lazzarini
Conrad Dunn
Mariel Hemmingway
Mark Jennings
Louisa Jean Kelly
Greg Agalsoff
Tony Rosato
Martin Ferrero
Steve Railsback
Jon Turteltaub
Jill Jacobson
Larry Hankin
Brian Cooper
Ken Levine
Howard Deutch
Walter Olkewicz
Marie Ferraro Ribaldo 
Patty Ferraro
Joe Kroger
Nina Keogh
Leo Crotty
John Stocker
Juul Haalmeyer
 
So I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a blessed 2015! Keep your fingers crossed we see the book later this year.

Thanks for all your support
Much love

Tracey x

Happy Birthday Mr Candy x

Happy Birthday Mr Candy! So another year has passed and today you would have been 64. 

It is so very hard not to write a similar blog post to last year as every word still stands, if not more so. (If you didn't read last years, here it is http://www.searchingforcandy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/dear-john.html )

John, you live on, not just in your body of work but in your family, friends, colleagues and fans.

So to all of your fans I ask this, do something to honour Mr Candy today; watch one of his films, love a little more, laugh a little harder, help someone who needs it and also someone who doesn't, tip a little larger, raise a glass and be kind, always. John can be kept alive in so many ways, not just by remembering him as the comedy luminary and great actor that he was, but by also taking inspiration from his work and life ethic.

Hopefully John by your next birthday the book will be out and I will have done you proud.

Know you are loved and missed by so many,

With love and gratitude always

Tracey x

There is only one Uncle Buck

So this week brings the entertainment news (I specify entertainment as I know there are some very serious issues going on in the world at the moment) that ABC and Universal have partnered up to bring Uncle Buck to the small screen as a sitcom. Rewind to 1990 and this was trialled and unsuccessful, with Kevin Meaney playing Buck and unfortunately for him he didn't even come close to Candy.


Cue the titles;

Uncle Buck TV Show 1990 - watch it through your fingers

I have no clue how they are going to pull it off. John Hughes wrote that part specifically for Candy as he was his muse. John Candy is Uncle Buck!

Even though I find myself wincing I get it. Uncle Buck is a classic, why wouldn't you want to replicate it? At the same time why would you? Some things just need to be left alone. They might do a great job and I may have to eat my hat (it angers a lot of people) and I hope they do. Or at least I hope those who are too young to have seen this brilliant piece of cinema have their attention drawn to it.

It's not just Buck, the casting overall for the film was genius, Hughes always seemed to get the mix right  as well as the writing and Candy being the generous actor he was, would always make the cast feel so at home they just gelled.

ABC and Universal I hope you prove me wrong, but for me there will only ever be one Uncle Buck, no one else could ever come close.

Buck Melanoma

Things you may or may not know about John Candy: Part Two

The last one I did of these proved more popular than any of my other blog posts, so I thought you might like a part two.

1. In his early days John had a writing partner, Lorne Frohman. They had an office on Young Street, Toronto, which was above a strip club. Needless to say they didn't make it as far as the office most days.

2. John may have been heavy set but he was physically very strong. He once picked up Dan Aykroyd and Dave Thomas (one on each shoulder) and was spinning them around in the air as part of a sketch. He also broke one of Martin Short's ribs doing similar physical comedy.

3. Once at a party John kept Chevy Chase in a headlock for two hours, even with Chevy protesting that it wasn't funny any more, it did not stop him. At that very same party John met Steven Spielberg and told him that he 'liked his movie about the fish', he made an impression on Spielberg and shortly after got a part in 1941.

4. He was hurt an awful lot and due to his extremely kind nature people would take advantage. John was driving home from work one day and sitting at a light, his arm out of the window when a man approached him and asked 'are you John Candy?' when John smiled and nodded the man pulled a gun out on him and demanded he gave him his watch. John was devastated, not because of the watch but mainly because he blamed himself for being too gullible and trusting.

5. In 1985 John was voted one of the top ten sexiest men in America by Playgirl magazine.

There you go, just  a few more facts. This week I have been marvelling at just how much work I have done on this book. I was then hit with a realisation of how much more I have to do. Bitter sweet really as I don't want this project to end. 

Hope you are all well and thanks for your support,

Tracey xx

Another star in the sky.

This week John is joined by another friend and the world mourns the loss of Robin Williams.

A horrific reminder that everybody hurts, we have no idea what others go through and that we should be kind, always.

Robin and John had a lot in common. They were good friends, hilariously funny, brought such joy to the world and left us way too soon.


It is always such a shock when those so full of life can be conquered by death.

RIP Robin, I know John will be thrilled to see you.

Much love and thanks for all the laughs
Tracey x

Why John Candy was (and still is) funny.

I discovered John Candy in my childhood. Splash was my introduction, swiftly followed by Brewster's Millions (thanks to my brother Dave who watched it religiously most weeks when we were kids).

I loved John and his characters then as much as I do now. He has always managed to crack me up and likewise have me blubbing like a baby. Two of my god children, Jake and Macy, love Uncle Buckle as they call him. John appeals to so many age groups, his humour is universal and timeless.

So what makes John so funny?

I think his down to earth character, the fact that he often played the underdog that we could relate to and root for. He seemed to put a bit of himself in each role he played, making everyday occurrences funny by focusing on the small details that we could all recognise in our own lives. A look, an expression, a movement or a line - he had it all and on top of that he was a great dramatic actor.

John loved people, all types of people, if you were nice to him then he was nice to you. He listened and was interested and it didn't matter who you were. By getting to know people he knew what made them tick, the key to making his characters so human. As Mel Brooks said "Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you".

He was also a very generous actor, all those that I have interviewed have told me how he didn't ever try to steal the limelight, he always saw the film as a team effort and would do what ever was best for the picture.

John was extremely quick and thanks to his training at Second City he was perfect at commedia dell'arte. In many of his roles such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Spaceballs, when he was allowed to improvise he was second to none.

I think one of the biggest things that made John so funny (no not his size he was funny regardless) was that he really enjoyed laughing. He had a huge imagination and an even bigger heart.

I interviewed Jon Turtletaub (Director of Cool Runnings) who told me "John wasn't one of those funny guys that was really 'on' all the time. A lot of these guys are always performing and they are not the ones that make the great actors. The most impressive thing for me about John was he was the only hilariously funny famous person who laughed at other peoples jokes. You don't see that in comic geniuses, they either don't react at all or they smile and say "that is funny", but he would delight, laugh and enjoy and make other people feel funny and that is such a gift to give people. 

I think so many of his big films worked because of his warmth and generosity to his co-stars and his compassion to others. I know not every movie John was in was critically acclaimed but I do believe that he made every picture better and surely as an actor, that is all you could hope for. 

Plain and simple John had a gift, I wish I could bottle and sell it but I can't.

He was a true one off.