The Untold Truth Of John Candy

Although he was never technically one of them, show wise, Candy appeared in 11 movies with "SNL" alumni.

These collaborations began inauspiciously, with the 1976 anthology TV spoof "Tunnel Vision," which purported to present futuristic programming from the far-away year of 1985. In raunchy clips like "The Pregnant Man" and the Manson sitcom "Charlie's Girls," Candy appeared alongside folks like Howard Hesseman, Roger Bowen, and Betty Thomas, as well as "SCTV" fave Joe Flaherty and "SNL" Not Ready for Primetime Players Chevy Chase and Laraine Newman, most just beginning their film careers.

In 1979, Candy appeared with friend Belushi (now a big star, post "National Lampoon's Animal House") in Steven Spielberg's "1941," a comedy follow-up to "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" that many still cite as Spielberg's worst film. As the '80s progressed and Belushi became a bigger star, "1941" led to "The Blues Brothers," pairing Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and casting Candy in a small-but-unforgettable role as the "Orange whip? Orange Whip? 3 Orange whips"-loving detective on their tail. 1981 also brought "Stripes," putting Candy in scene-stealing mode alongside Bill Murray, who at various times was involved in both Second City and "SNL."

In 1982, Candy and Aykroyd both anchored "It Came from Hollywood," a comedy/documentary that had the funnymen playing thinly-veiled versions of themselves while talking over old movies (a format that would prove popular a decade later with "Mystery Science Theater 3000"); Candy even hosted a tribute to Ed Wood. In 1983, Candy had a small but memorable role in "National Lampoon's Vacation," a Chevy Chase classic.

By 1985, Candy was a household name on his own, making memorable cameos in films like "Little Shop of Horrors" (which featured cameos from Bill Murray and frequent "SNL" host Steve Martin and starred Candy's "SCTV" buddy Rick Moranis). In the late '80s, Candy and Aykroyd were full-on leading men in "The Great Outdoors," and then teamed with Chevy Chase for "Valkenvania," a notorious project written and directed by Aykroyd that cast him and Candy in dual roles and was intended as a "Beetlejuice"-type film; over budget and panned by critics, it eventually limped into theaters in 1991 as the bomb "Nothing But Trouble."

Rounding out the list of films where Candy starred with "SNL" alumni, there's also the underrated comedy "Delirious," which had infamously-fired alumnus Charles Rocket in the cast, and "Canadian Bacon," directed by Michael Moore and marking one of his final roles, casting Candy alongside Jim Belushi.