Reel Beach: Second City remembers laughter and tears

By BERNIE FLETCHER

The late, great John Candy has a place in our hearts, but you won’t find “John Candy Way” on any map of Toronto. It’s actually a photo wall at the Second City Theatre celebrating the life and career of the beloved comic actor.

Second City (110 Harbour St. across from Love Park) welcomed visitors last month as part of Doors Open Toronto.

The newest Heritage Toronto plaque celebrates the comedy troupe which has nurtured Canadian talent since 1973 and helped launch the careers of legendary comedians.

Two streaming documentaries reveal the heart behind the makeup of two wonderful performers who have given us the gift of laughter: John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video) and Marty: Life is Short (Netflix) about Martin Short. Both honed their humour through Second City sketches.
Sometimes laughter is the best medicine in the face of tears. Both comic actors have suffered terrible losses.

On Candy’s fifth birthday his father died of a heart attack at only 35. That must have been a heavy burden to carry. He lived with that family history until his own death at 43 in 1994. Candy played wild and wacky characters, but his everyman quality shines through.

“He brought so much of his own vulnerability and sweetness and kindness into the characters he created,” said Short about his friend Candy.
When the Candy documentary opened TIFF last September, The Star called it “a moving tribute to a Canadian great.” The title is taken from the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) where Candy’s character Del says, “I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.’” Who can forget the “Those aren’t pillows” scene?

“He always walked the tightrope between hilarious and heartbreaking.”

Ryan Reynolds.

Candy is well remembered at Neil McNeil High School where he had hopes of being a pro football player, but wrecked his knee. He turned to sketch comedy and improv at Second City with a talented troupe of comic actors.

Second City Television (SCTV) launched in Toronto in 1976, bouncing to Edmonton before moving to Magder Studios on Pharmacy Avenue in Scarborough, also home to A Christmas Story (1983) and The Freshman (1990).

“I couldn’t be more excited, I must say.”

Martin Short as Ed Grmley

Like Candy, Short’s life story is told through the eyes of family and friends.

And what friends! Who has their home movies of Muskoka cottage fun filled with warm moments alongside Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Steve Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Goldie Hawn, Ron Howard, Dan Aykroyd and Mel Brooks?

Martin Short has spoken openly about dealing with grief. When he was 12 his older brother died in a car accident. By the age of 20 both his parents had passed away. Short’s wife Nancy died of cancer in 2010. The past year has been especially sad with the deaths of his daughter as well as close friends Catherine O’Hara, Diane Keaton and Rob and Michele Reiner.

Short’s life has been marked by profound loss, but he remains positive, not allowing himself to be defined by tragedy: “I’m in the greatest profession in the world. I’m so damn lucky.”

“Marty operates at the speed of joy.”

Tom Hanks

No one has a bad word to say about Short, I must say, except his alter ego Jiminy Glick. Steve Martin calls Short “the life of the party”: “I’ll tell you something about Marty. Let’s say you’re going to have a dinner party and you invite Marty and then it turns out Marty can’t come. You cancel the party.”

Eugene Levy adds: “In this business, in the world of comedy, there’s nobody faster. There’s nobody smarter. There’s nobody funnier.”
Marty is dedicated to his daughter Katherine and Catherine O’Hara, “the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with.”

We can look back fondly on a truly wonderful time for comedy in Toronto. Second City is making sure John Candy’s legacy and memory live on in a theatre space where students perform called the John Candy Box. You can “see the original floor where John Candy made history.”

There’s a quote from John’s widow Rose: “John would love to be remembered as the guy who made you laugh. May John’s spirit continue to be supportive of all new talent forever. We always miss him dearly.”

You, too, can take improv lessons at Second City and find your inner funny bone. We all need some laughter these days!

You can catch Candy in Cool Runnings (1993) at David Pecaut Square on July 1 as part of TIFF’s Downtown Movies in the Park (free).