Friends of Gilda

Friends of Gilda was a 1993 ninety-minute television special made by CBC Television to benefit the Genesis Research Foundation, the research fundraising arm of the University of Toronto’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The fundraiser was a tribute to Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 and featured a long list of performers with whom she was friendly. Among these were the "surviving cast members" who had shared the stage with Gilda Radner in the celebrated Toronto production of Godspell which was her professional stage debut. Others appearing in the special knew her from Second City Toronto. Several—including Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin—fell into both those categories.

Directed by Martin Short, Friends of Gilda leans on a strong ensemble — Gilda Radner, Valda Aviks, John Candy — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1993.