The Academy Awards has the “Oscar,” now the Canadian Screen Awards has the “Candy.”
During his opening monologue on Sunday night, CSAs host Norm Macdonald joked that the award should be called the “Candy” in tribute to the late John Candy and it seems the name is sticking.
Candy’s comedy friends Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short took to the name immediately. Candy, who passed away after suffering a heart attack in 1994, starred alongside Levy and O’Hara on the Canadian comedy sketch show “SCTV”.
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The new nickname wasn’t just picked up by Candy’s pals. The adorable Jacob Tremblay and presenters Donald Sutherland and Helen Shaver adopted the shorter moniker, referring to the statuette as the “Candy” during the ceremony, as did many other winners speaking to the press backstage.
Now, the comedian’s family is sharing their appreciation over the nickname with ET Canada:
“What’s not to love about the idea of the Canadian Screen Awards being nicknamed ‘The Candys,” Jennifer Candy, daughter of John tells ET Canada. “We as a family are humbled and honoured with this. It’s always so nice to see how there is still so much love and respect for him,” she adds, speaking on behalf of the Candy family.
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The iconic Canadian comedian was top of the mind with some of the night’s biggest stars, including Lifetime Achievement honouree Martin Short. Short shared his memories of John Candy with our Cheryl Hickey backstage at the CSAs:
“It was amazing when Norm said, ‘Here’s Eugene Levy to give an award to Martin Short, to give him a Candy,’” Short said backstage.
Short shared memories of John Candy while looking back on his career with our Cheryl Hickey backstage of the CSAs:
