I loved John Candy growing up and was so sad when he passed away. This book was an interesting read and really informative. It made me want to go back and watch everything I could with John in it. Well done.

The first time I remember seeing John Candy, he was portraying the one of a kind, Del Griffith. This book takes us through Candy’s career and all those great movies. I had forgotten about a few of them, such as his role in Home Alone. If you are a Candy fan, you know about SCTV and The Great Outdoors, this book will take you behind the movie to how things happened. The author did a superb job on this one.

Like John Candy himself this biography is full of heart and so I am rating it four stars.

Searching for Candy
John Candy: A Biography
Second Edition
by Tracey Morgan

Forward by Rob Salem

Publication Date: July 1, 2024

I must say that I have to like anyone who acknowledges their cats AND Freddy Mercury for not making it weird for them to thank their furry companions.

This new second edition touts new stories and interviews.

Through over 70 first-hand interviews with his colleagues and friends, you will receive an extensive overview of his career along with insights into his life.

Over and over again it shows us the generous and kind nature of the late Great John Candy.

“Legends like John Candy never really die.”
~ Tracey J. Morgan

(As a John Candy fan myself I want to add that my favorite John Candy movie was Trains, Planes, and Automobiles).

#netgalley #arc
#JohnCandy #SearchingforCandy #Comedy
#biography #nonfiction #traceyjmorgan

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I read biographies to find out facts about the subject. This book was written by a super fan who injected herself and her opinions in way too much. She imagines how he felt in situations and skips over actual facts about events. What was John’s knee injury?

I did enjoy the parts with other people, I learned a lot from that, but the fangirl stuff was too much for me.


I’d recommend this to people who don’t mind someone gushing all over a topic.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

John Candy has been gone for thirty years, and he’s still the only one who can make a terrible, horrible day slide off of my shoulders. For decades now, a quick rewatch of just a tiny clip of his work has made me smile regardless of circumstance. I was delighted to find this updated version of Searching for Candy pop up on NetGalley.

Unlike most celebrity memoirists, Tracey J Morgan didn’t build this book around spicy stories retold by other famous celebrities. Instead, it’s full of stories about Candy told by people he grew up with, early friends in the business, hairdressers, scene extras, etc. There is zero salaciousness. Instead, there’s quiet joy in discovering that a man whom I’ve adored both from afar and beyond the grave was truly a good, solid man. He adored his wife and children. He prized equity, and would speak up to bullies. He was silly, fair, loving, kind, and never saw the need to become anything that he wasn’t. It’s everything you ever wanted to discover about someone you’ve put on a pedestal. I enjoyed every second, and I was sad to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and Morag for kindly granting access to my request for an ARC.

I love John Candy, so it was great to read a biography about him. Unlike most bios, this doesn't rely on quotes from big stars. No, most of the anecdotes come from behind-the-scenes people who knew him--hairdressers, makeup people, fans. It is amazing that he was incredibly kind to EVERYONE! There are stories of people who came up to him in a bar and said they were a fan and suddenly John brings them into his orbit and they end up hanging out til 4am. He was just seemingly a beautiful, beautiful man.

The book maybe gets a little repetitive with these stories of his kindness, but it is still nice to know that a man whose career I loved was an even nicer person off camera.

Netgalley provided me a free e-galley in return for this honest review.