This Is How John Candy Thanked the Cast and Crew of ‘Spaceballs’

The upcoming Spaceballs sequel — possibly one of two upcoming sequels — is reportedly bringing back a number of actors from the original 1987 movie, including Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and 99-year-old Mel Brooks as the flamethrower-wielding Yogurt. As of now, it’s unclear if any of the traumatized puppeteers that brought the monstrosity known as “Pizza the Hutt” to life will be returning.

Of course, two members of the core cast have passed away since the first film was made: Joan Rivers, who voiced Dot Matrix, died in 2014, and John Candy, who played Barf the Mawg, tragically passed away in 1994 at the age of 43.

Whenever the cameras finally roll on Spaceballs II, the Uncle Buck star will no doubt be missed, not just by moviegoers, but by the cast and crew.

Daphne Zuniga, who played the Druish Princess Vespa, recently guested on The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux, and discussed the making of Spaceballs, specifically highlighting the joys of working with Candy. She noted that Candy was “amazing” and “generous” but had also “been around the block,” which is why he randomly offered her show-business advice such as “sign your own checks. Always sign your own checks.”

Candy was constantly hilarious, which proved difficult for Zuniga who was tasked with playing the movie’s most self-serious character. “He also tried to make me crack up when we were rolling,” the Sure Thing actress explained. “I had to be the serious one, but right before they’d say action, he’d keep saying crazy stuff and being funny.”

As further evidence of Candy’s generosity, when the movie wrapped, he had special gifts custom made for the entire cast and crew. “He was so kind to everyone. At the end of our shoot of Spaceballs, he had made a little plaque with a gold bone that was spray-painted gold and it said, ‘Spaceballs, love John,’” Zuniga recalled. 

According to the biography Searching for Candy by Tracey J. Morgan, these gifts were dubbed the “Barf Awards” and each plaque came with the recipient’s “name engraved on it.”

“And he gave one to every single — like, I still have mine — but everyone on the crew,” she continued. “Not just the actors, not just the above the line (talent), everyone. And those were big crews back in the ‘80s, because there was a lot of money for movies, so there were hundreds of people. That was the first time I experienced somebody like that having that kind of special touch, to do something for everybody like that, so that you’d have something to remember the experience by. I thought that was really cool.” 

That’s a pretty high bar to set for whoever ends up playing the next generation of Mawg in Spaceballs II.