Now, the Emmy-nominated documentary film John Candy: I Like Me reveals how barbs about his weight were no laughing matter, said his family members.
“I think everyone who had some sort of difference was kind of put under a magnifying glass,” said his daughter, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan. “So for him, it was his weight. And he took it like a gentleman. And I think as his career went on, he was able to be more comfortable with himself and speak up for himself.”
The Canadian actor often played a big-hearted buffoon, which led people to think he was an “everyday guy,” so it was okay to “joke around him,” said his daughter.
“In reality, it wasn’t that OK. It was not cool,” said Sullivan.
Her mother, and John’s widow, Rosemary Candy, agrees, noting the funnyman handled the ribbing “really well,” but it was still “upsetting” and a “challenge” early in his career.