Editing John Candy (section)

===1971–1978: Early career and ''SCTV'' ===
In 1971, Candy was cast in a small part as a [[Shriners|Shriner]] in ''Creeps'' by David E. Freeman, a new Canadian play about [[cerebral palsy]], in the inaugural season of the [[Tarragon Theatre]] in Toronto.{{r|Knelman|p=22}} Candy guest-starred on a Canadian children's television series, ''[[Cucumber (Canadian TV series)|Cucumber]]'', and made a brief, uncredited appearance in ''[[Class of '44]]'' (1973) as his first ever appearance in a feature film. He had a small part in ''[[The ABC Afternoon Playbreak]]'' ("Last Bride of Salem") and had a regular role on the TV series ''[[Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins]]'' (1974–75).

Candy became a member of Toronto's branch of [[The Second City]] in 1972.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/thevarsity103/page/n659|title=Candy's Dandy, but...|publisher=[[The Varsity (newspaper)|The Varsity]]|access-date=December 9, 2021}}</ref> He gained wide [[North America]]n popularity when he became a cast member on the influential [[Edmonton]] and later Toronto-based comedy-variety show ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV''). [[NBC]] picked the show up in 1981 and quickly became a fan favorite. It won [[Emmy Award]]s for the show's writing in 1981 and 1982.<ref name=biography1>{{cite web| url=http://www.biography.com/people/john-candy-9542625| title=John Candy| website=[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]| access-date=July 23, 2020| archive-date=March 30, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330021016/https://www.biography.com/people/john-candy-9542625| url-status=live}}</ref> Among Candy's ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]'' characters were unscrupulous street-beat TV personality Johnny LaRue, 3-D horror [[auteur]] Doctor Tongue, [[sycophant]]ic and easily amused talk-show sidekick William B. Williams, and Melonville's corrupt Mayor Tommy Shanks.

In 1975 he played Richie, an accused killer, in the episode "Web of Guilt" on the [[Television in Canada|Canadian]] TV show ''[[Dr. Simon Locke|Police Surgeon]]''.<ref>[http://www.tvarchive.ca/database/18160/police_surgeon/episode_guide/ Episode Guide – Police Surgeon (Series) (1971–1975)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017173027/http://www.tvarchive.ca/database/18160/police_surgeon/episode_guide/ |date=October 17, 2019 }}<br />January 23, 1975 – "Web of Guilt" Dr. Locke intervenes when a woman judge (Nancy Olson) endangers herself by becoming too protective of her brother, who is accused of murder. Richie: John Candy. Bonnie: Helen Shaver. Scharfman: Don McGill.</ref> He was in ''[[It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time]]'' (1975), shot in Canada, as well as the children's sitcom ''[[Coming Up Rosie]]'' (1975–78) with [[Dan Aykroyd]]. Candy had a small role in ''[[Tunnel Vision (1976 film)|Tunnel Vision]]'' (1976).

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 film)|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 1978, Candy had a small role as a bank employee (with [[Christopher Plummer]] and [[Elliott Gould]]) in the Canadian thriller ''[[The Silent Partner (1978 film)|The Silent Partner]]''. He guest starred on such shows as ''[[The David Steinberg Show]]'' and ''[[King of Kensington]]''.