‘Someone we want to hold up’: Author Paul Myers talks ‘John Candy: A Life in Comedy’

Paul Myers tells Ian White about his new book about the life and legacy of comedian John Candy.

In another movie universe, Harvey Keitel would have never played The Wolf, the “cleaner” in Pulp Fiction who helps tidy up the mess from a murder.

It would have been John Candy.

“There’s a bunch of things that happened like that during the research process where I was completely surprised,” author Paul Myers told CTV News.

Quentin Tarantino sent Candy the script for Pulp Fiction, but the Canadian comedian opted for more family-friendly material.

That’s one of the revelations in Myers’ new book—John Candy: A Life in Comedy.

It’s being released at the same time as a new documentary on the Canadian comedian—John Candy: I Like Me.

“Now we look at, in this day and age, empathy, compassion and just genuinely the ability to be an ambassador of good will that John Candy lived all through his career and in his work,” said Myers.

“I think he’s just someone we want to hold up.”

Myers’ book includes a chapter on Cool Runnings, the film on the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary.

“I think he loved it. The story was perfect for him because at that stage in his career he was somebody who was a mentor to those young actors in that film,” said Myers.