Editing John Candy (section)

== Early life and education ==
John Franklin Candy was born on October 31, 1950, in Newmarket, and grew up in Toronto, Ontario.<ref>{{cite web  |title=John Candy |url=https://www.biography.com/actor/john-candy |website=Biography |date=May 7, 2021 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref> He was brought up in a [[working class]] [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] family.<ref>{{cite news |title=John Candy: The legacy of a cinematic legend |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-candy-legacy-cinema-legend/ |access-date=December 23, 2021 |work=Far Out magazine |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224053157/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-candy-legacy-cinema-legend/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His childhood home was at 217 Woodville Avenue in [[Toronto, Ontario]].<ref>{{cite magazine| first=Karen S.| last=Schneider| url=http://people.com/archive/cover-story-exit-laughing-vol-41-no-10/| title=Exit Laughing| magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]| date=March 21, 1994| access-date=September 22, 2017}}</ref> According to the 1921 Canadian census records Candy's father Sidney James (1920–1955) was born to [[English people|English]] parents who immigrated to [[Canada]] in 1913.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search?DataSource=Genealogy%7CCensus&ApplicationCode=121~122~123~124~26~120~2~29~16~27~28~4~137~125~3~30~146&FirstName=Sidney&LastName=Candy&ProvinceCode=AB~BC~MB~NB~NT~NS~ON~PE~QC~SK~YT~LC~UC~CE~CW~TT&|title= Candy, Sidney Genealogy / Census|website= Government of Canada|date= November 25, 2016|accessdate= 31 October 2023|archive-date= December 4, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241204173311/https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search?DataSource=Genealogy%7CCensus&ApplicationCode=121~122~123~124~26~120~2~29~16~27~28~4~137~125~3~30~146&FirstName=Sidney&LastName=Candy&ProvinceCode=AB~BC~MB~NB~NT~NS~ON~PE~QC~SK~YT~LC~UC~CE~CW~TT&|url-status= live}}</ref> John Candy's mother, Evangeline Valeria ([[birth name|née]] Aker; 1916–2009) was of [[Polish Canadians|Polish]] descent.{{r|Knelman|p=19}} His father died of complications of [[Cardiovascular disease|heart disease]] at age 35 in 1955 when John was four years old.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Tragic Death of John Candy's Father|url=https://www.grunge.com/413417/the-tragic-death-of-john-candys-father/|access-date=November 9, 2022 |work=Grunge magazine}}</ref>

Candy attended [[Neil McNeil Catholic High School]] where he was the treasurer of the student council and was a star [[offensive tackle]] on the school's [[Canadian football|football]] team and participated in drama club. Long before considering acting, Candy dreamed of becoming a professional football player, but a knee injury during his high school football career prevented him from fulfilling his dream.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sport John Candy Tried to Play Professionally|url=https://www.grunge.com/288460/the-sport-john-candy-tried-to-play-professionally/|access-date=December 21, 2022|website=www.Grunge.com|date=December 3, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221173604/https://www.grunge.com/288460/the-sport-john-candy-tried-to-play-professionally/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Knelman |first1=Martin |title=Laughing on the Outside |date=2014 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=9781466878433}}</ref> He later enrolled in [[Centennial College (Canada)|Centennial College]] to study journalism, and then went to [[McMaster University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=50 things you didn't know about Centennial College, Part 1|url=https://www.centennialcollege.ca/centennial-college-blog/2016/october/05/50-things-you-didnt-know-about-centennial-college-part-1/|access-date=February 1, 2022|website=www.centennialcollege.ca|archive-date=February 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202053547/https://www.centennialcollege.ca/centennial-college-blog/2016/october/05/50-things-you-didnt-know-about-centennial-college-part-1/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=July 24, 2021|title=You've just gotta laugh at these McMaster grads|language=en|work=The Hamilton Spectator|url=https://www.thespec.com/life/local-history/spec175/2021/07/24/youve-just-gotta-laugh-at-these-mcmaster-grads.html|access-date=February 1, 2022|issn=1189-9417}}</ref> He started acting while at college.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}