When the comedy series SCTV hit the airwaves in 1976, audiences immediately gravitated toward the funniest and friendliest member of the cast, John Candy. His eclectic collection of offbeat characters (Johnny LaRue, Dr. Tongue, Yosh Shmenge, Harry-"the guy with the snake on his face") attracted a large and loyal following that has stayed with him through the hits (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Splash) and misses (Armed and Dangerous, Who's Harry Crumb?) of a film career that promises its best work is yet to come. Candy believes his latest film, Uncle Buck, due out this month, is a new direction into seriocomic roles. Robert Crane caught up with Candy aboard Air Canada's L.A.-Toronto afternoon flight. Crane reports: "Candy is an energy source contained in clothes. In addition to his non-stop moviemaking, he tapes a weekly radio show, Radio Kandy, he will host a Saturday morning kids' show, Camp Candy, and he is involved in three HBO comedy specials. There is even talk of putting his name on a line of clothing. A guy that nice shouldn't have to work that hard."

Q 1

PLAYBOY: What's the best advice a bartender ever gave you?

John Candy: "Don't get into the restaurant business." "You've had enough." "It's time to go." "Do you really need this?"

Q 2

PLAYBOY: Why isn't there more sex in your films?

John Candy: Damn, that's what I ask the producers. It's not for lack of trying. We had some in Summer Rental. I'm working now with Amy Madigan. She does my private parts in Uncle Buck.

Q 3

PLAYBOY: You, Sam Kinison, Roseanne Barr and Louie Anderson are all in the forefront of comedy. Is fat funny?

John Candy: It's as funny as midgets. It's really in the eye of the beholder. Some choose to think that. I never dwell on it. I tend to look at people as people and not as tall, short, fat, skinny. Given the opportunity I'm sure we could come up with a list of faults for everyone. We could find old people funny. People with big noses. People going bald. People with big ears. People with goiters. People who have face lifts. People who have perfect teeth. You could cut anybody up.

Roseanne Barr is very funny, very talented. More power to her. Louie Anderson is funny. Sam Kinison is very talented. I think they're talented no matter what they look like. I don't judge people by how they look and I try not to hang out with people who do.

Q 4

PLAYBOY: How did you come up with the Shmenges?

John Candy: Eugene Levy and I were sitting in a hotel room in Edmonton, writing the SCTV show, and I had been using the word shmenge, which is a bastardization of shmegegge. We were watching a polka show on TV and I said, "Boy, there's a couple of shmenges for you," and a light bulb went off and we looked at each other and went, "Yeah, shmenges." That afternoon, we created Yosh and Stan and wrote the first script. It wasn't until six months later that we shot it. Everybody went nuts in the studio. And then we did additional bits when we had the right pieces for them.

Q 5

PLAYBOY: Will the Shmenges do any relief concerts for the Soviet Baltic countries?

John Candy: I think they're going to send Dan Quayle over. He's doing a one-man show, I'm Not Jack Kennedy, for dinner theaters. He'll be touring Russia with that. He's going to kick off in Berlin. Ich bin nicht Jack Kennedy Berliner. The Shmenges may open for him.