He rose to international fame in the 1980s with his roles in comedy films such as Stripes (1981), Splash (1984), Brewster's Millions (1985), Armed and Dangerous (1986), Spaceballs (1987), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989), and Cool Runnings (1993).

In addition to his work as an actor, Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the team won the 1991 Grey Cup under his ownership.

[citation needed] In 1971, Candy was cast in a small part as a Shriner in Creeps by David E. Freeman, a new Canadian play about cerebral palsy, in the inaugural season of the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

[12] He gained wide North American popularity when he became a cast member on the influential Edmonton and later Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV).

During the series' run he appeared in films such as The Clown Murders (1976) and had a lead in a low-budget comedy, Find the Lady (1976) (both co-starring fellow Canadian actor Lawrence Dane).

In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski's short-lived late-night television talk show 90 Minutes Live.

In 1979, Candy took a brief hiatus from SCTV and began a more active film career, appearing in a minor role in Lost and Found (1979) and playing a U.S. Army soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941.

He had a supporting role as easygoing parole officer Burton Mercer in The Blues Brothers (1980), starring Aykroyd, and did an episode of Tales of the Klondike (1981) for Canadian TV.

[16] He also obtained backstage access to interview Midge Ure, the lead singer of the UK electronic band Ultravox, which performed a concert on the SIU campus the evening of 10/31/80.

Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxberger in Stripes (1981), directed by Canadian Ivan Reitman, which was one of the most successful films of the year.

However, Candy did make a contribution to the franchise, as one of the many people chanting "Ghostbusters" in the video for Ray Parker Jr.'s hit single for the film.

Candy played Tom Hanks's womanizing brother in the hit romantic comedy Splash, generally considered his break-out role.

He had a cameo in The Canadian Conspiracy (1985) and appeared alongside Martin Short in Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood (1985) in Canada.

Candy's next starring role in a Hollywood film was the box office disappointment Armed and Dangerous (1986) with Levy and Meg Ryan.

Candy provided the voice for Don the Horse in Hot to Trot (1988) and starred in a flop comedy, considered by some to be a cult classic, Who's Harry Crumb?

He was also in the box office flop Speed Zone aka Cannonball Fever (1989), however, he had another hit film with Hughes as writer and director in Uncle Buck (1989).

In 1991, Chris Columbus wrote and directed Only the Lonely with John Hughes serving as co-producer, and starring Candy and Maureen O'Hara; it was well reviewed but not a big hit.

During this time, Candy played a small dramatic role as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991), and had a cameo in the television film Boris and Natasha: The Movie (1992).

Candy starred in his first comedic hit in a number of years with Cool Runnings (1993), a story of the first Jamaican national bobsleigh team attempting to make it to the 1988 Winter Olympics.

[27][28] Candy was in talks to portray Ignatius J. Reilly in a now-shelved film adaptation of John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces.

[32][33] These three shelved projects have been alleged as cursed because Candy, John Belushi, Sam Kinison, and Chris Farley were each attached to all three roles; they all died before they could make any of these films.

[34][35] Candy was originally considered to play Alec Guinness's role in the remake of the 1950 film Last Holiday, with Carl Reiner directing.

[44][45] The celebrity ownership group attracted attention in Canada, and the team spent a significant amount of money, even signing some highly touted National Football League prospects such as wide receiver Raghib Ismail.

His final completed film was Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore released a year after Candy's death.

"[57] After his death, the John Candy Visual Arts Studio at Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto was dedicated in his honour.