During the final days of the film's production in Durango, Mexico, John Candy died of a heart attack at the age of 43. Script re-writes, a stand-in and special effects were used to complete his remaining scenes, and it was released five months after his death.
"Wagons East" was a big disappointment for me. But the saddest thing about this movie is that it turned out to be John Candy's last film role (he died just before shooting was completed on this). There are only a few laughs throughout this western spoof, and for a comedy that doesn't cut it.
The film takes on a poignant quality because Candy, at age 43, suffered a fatal heart attack on March 4 while filming its last scenes. He is noticeably missing from the finale - a confrontation in which the U.S. Cavalry attacks the wagon train to halt settlers from rushing back East. The trouble with ``Wagons East!''
Candy died in his sleep at the age of 43, on March 4, 1994, in Durango City, Mexico, while filming Wagons East; a spokeswoman said that Candy's cause of death was a heart attack.
Awful. A candidate for one of the year's worst movies. The jokes tend to be watered-down versions of the tasteless kind that enlivened the Naked Gun movies and the early films of Mel Brooks. Although a comedy rife in lively characters, Wagons East!
In the mid-nineties Candy filmed the Michael Moore comedy Canadian Bacon (1995) then went to Mexico to film the western spoof Wagons East (1994). It was in Mexico that Candy had a heart attack and passed away in March 1994. Canadian Bacon (1995) was released a year after his death and is his last film.
The film was shot on location in Bass Lake, California, a small resort town near Sierra National Forest over three weeks in October 1987 where it portrayed the fictional Lake Potowotominimac. Ducey's Bass Lake Lodge, a rustic 1940s resort, was featured as "Wally and Juanita's Perk's Pine Lodge Resort".
Aykroyd is a former reserve commander for the police department in Harahan, Louisiana, working for Chief of Police Peter Dale. While on the force, Aykroyd carried his badge with him at all times. He currently serves as a reserve deputy of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Hinds County, Mississippi.
Candy, known for his gentle humor, appeared on the SCTV television series before rising to fame in movies like “Uncle Buck.” One of Candy's recurring characters on SCTV was Yosh Shmenge, a clarinet player in a polka band (John actually played the clarinet in his youth).
A colonial-style house in Evanston was chosen for the exterior of the Russell house. The exteriors and practical locations were shot in Chicago, Cicero, Skokie, Northbrook, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, and Riverwoods.
After his tragic death, a private funeral service was held. Among the people at this service include: Tom Hanks, Jim Belushi, Rick Moranis, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Ed Harris, Harold Ramis, Catherine O' Hara Eugen levy and many other of his fellow SCTV co-stars.
Six-foot-three and weighing as much as 275 pounds, he struggled with dieting over the years, but his heft undoubtedly contributed to his success as a comic performer.
The "Uncle Buck" star died in March 1994 from a heart attack at age 43. John Candy's two children shared touching messages to honor their father on the 29th anniversary of his death.
In this May 1977 file photo, concrete is dumped on top of the crate in Sandra West's grave containing her Ferrari with West in the driver's seat, as she requested. Express-News file photo by Joe Barrera Jr. Her beloved Ferrari remained in California until the ruling. Then the sports car was sent to San Antonio.
Accidental burial. According to a popular legend recorded by Joannes Zonaras and George Kedrenos, two 11th-century and 12th-century Byzantine Greek historians, the 5th century Roman emperor Zeno was buried alive in Constantinople after becoming insensible from drinking or an illness.
