"Wagons East" is widely known as John Candy's last movie, as he died on the set. That's just what makes it so sad: not simply that Candy suffered a fatal heart attack, but that it was on the set of such a crummy movie.
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 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!''
At the same time the Indians see this as a good thing. Makes for some strange alliances. This was John Candy's last film and lucky we got it completed as he died during the making.
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.
Candy was loved by thousands of people who loved his classic antics in Splash (1984) and The Great Outdoors (1988). He was well-known for his roles in Stripes (1981) and Uncle Buck (1989) and he himself never forgot his Canadian background.
The film was completed by using CGI, a body double, and script rewrites to finish Candy's remaining scenes. Candy was set to leave the morning he was found dead, and the first two people informed were costars Richard Lewis and Robert Picardo who had come to his trailer to see him off.
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).
"Wagons East" is widely known as John Candy's last movie, as he died on the set. That's just what makes it so sad: not simply that Candy suffered a fatal heart attack, but that it was on the set of such a crummy movie.
John Candy died on March 4, 1994 in Mexico of a heart attack. He was 43. The Canadian comedy legend was best known for his roles in several 1980s comedies including “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “The Great Outdoors.” The actor was also on the Canadian sketch comedy show, “SCTV.”
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.
In 1982, he died from combined drug intoxication at the age of 33, after a drug dealer, Cathy Smith, injected him with a mixture of heroin and cocaine (known as a speedball) at the Chateau Marmont. He was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.
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.
For Steve Martin, working with John Candy became an incredibly wonderful experience as their on-screen chemistry was a spectacle to behold. Martin even claimed that Candy was one of the finest acting partners that he ever had the privilege of working with: “We had a really good connection.
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.
His love for Ukrainian food often had the restaurant ship down 10 dozen perogies every Christmas and Thanksgiving, and even on his birthday on October 31st each year. The staff who were shocked by his death in 1994 had nothing but praise for John Candy, who brought Hollywood to Canada.
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.
