"Candy had played this character in real life, and after passing the audition, he found himself walking across a studio floor in full football padding to a locker room set where he joined Canadian-born icon of American television Art Linkletter, whom Candy recognized from his 1950s television program People Are Funny. "My one big line was 'Oh sure, Casanova!'" Candy later told David Letterman on his Late Night talk show. "[We did] about a hundred takes of that.""
"Candy immediately felt at home on set and discovered an instant and easy rapport with the film crew. The Colgate spot gave him confidence to ask McCartney to send him out for more commercials, and he booked a few. One was for Molson Golden Ale, and Candy was thrilled to see it running constantly during the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts, where all of his old Neil McNeil High School pals were sure to see it."
John Candy met talent agent Catherine McCartney after nearly knocking her over in an Eaton's cafeteria line. He told her he had been taking acting classes and McCartney invited him to her office. In 1970 she cast a television commercial for a high school football player and sent Candy to audition for the Colgate spot. Candy performed the role, worked alongside Art Linkletter, and enjoyed the set atmosphere. The commercial work gave him confidence to seek more auditions and book additional commercials, including a Molson Golden Ale spot shown during Hockey Night in Canada. McCartney and Candy formed a bond over shared personal loss and mutual respect.
Read at The Walrus
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]