John Candy powered through a wild night with Jack Nicholson to film a classic scene in “Splash,” according to the film’s producer.
Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” to talk about his new sports docuseries called “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” where he was asked directly, “Is it true John Candy was hungover for the racquetball scene?”
“Yes. For real he stayed out with Jack Nicholson until like four or five in the morning, and then he went right to work,” Grazer said.
“John Candy had a lot of endurance, I mean really, a lot of endurance,” he added.
John Candy had a long night out with Jack Nicolshon, according to producer Brian Grazer, and came to the set of “Splash” with a hangover. (Getty Images)
“Splash,” directed by Grazer’s frequent collaborator Ron Howard, premiered in 1984, starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy and Candy. Hanks’ character, Allen, falls for Madison (Hannah), a woman who is secretly a mermaid, with Candy playing Hanks’ onscreen brother.
Grazer noted that at the time, Candy “was the most famous of all of them,” and would only agree to do the role if he could meet Grazer and see “if there’s chemistry.”
“I went to a Mexican restaurant right across the street from Warner Bros. and he had 17 small rum and cokes,” he recalled. “He drank them like one after the next, and he just lit up and was fun, but never got sloppy. Just kept going.”
Grazer recalled a lunch he and Candy had before they worked together on “Splash,” where the comedian drank “17 small rum and cokes,” but “never got sloppy.” (Getty Images)
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“The night with Nicholson, I think he overdid it,” he added. “So he literally ran into the ball that hit him in the head.”
In the scene Grazer referred to, Candy and Hanks are playing racquetball as they discuss the mysterious woman Hanks’ character recently met (Hannah, who happens to be a mermaid). Candy’s character is drinking beer in the scene and struggling to keep up, ultimately taking a racquetball to the face and hitting the ground.
Candy, despite his hangover, filmed the racquetball scene in “Splash,” even letting the ball hit him in the face with few problems. (Patti Gower/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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Eisen asked if the hit to the face was real, and Grazer confirmed it was.
“That was real. We knew we’d have to shoot it in two shots, but we didn’t have to, because the minute he hit that ball, it hit him right in the head, he couldn’t get out of the way of it,” Grazer said, adding, “it was lucky it didn’t hit him in the eye!”
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Candy went on to film more classic comedies like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” and “Uncle Buck,” before he died in 1994 at the age of 43 from a heart attack in his sleep.