John Candy’s Son Remembers the Moment He Found Out His Dad Died

John Candy’s son is reflecting on how his dad’s death changed his life.

Chris Candy is an executive producer of the new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, which premiered Sept. 4 at the Toronto International Film Festival and will stream Oct. 10 on Prime Video. In an essay published by The Toronto Star on Sept. 4, Chris, 40, reflected on losing his dad and retracing his life through the creation of the documentary. He was on hand for many of the interviews done by the movie’s director, Colin Hanks. 

Chris wrote that while working on the film, he learned he and his dad had “so much in common.” Like his dad, Chris was shy in high school, often ran late for events and could be stubborn. “Most poignant was something I already knew, but this time it hit a little harder: He lost his dad when he was 5; I lost mine when I was 8,” Chris wrote.

Then Chris remembered finding out about his dad’s death. John died from a heart attack in 1994 while filming Wagons East in Durango, Mexico. 

“I was in the third grade,” Chris wrote. He remembered that he had recently performed a Weird Al Yankovic number during the school’s talent show. “When Father Donie pulled me out of class that day, I thought he was going to compliment me on my performance!” he said. “He was an artist after all, and a friend of my mom’s.”

The priest walked Chris and his sister Jennifer, who’s also an executive producer of the documentary, down to the rectory. “We saw our dad’s assistant, Bob Crane, sobbing,” Chris wrote. “We turned the corner into the priest’s office, and my mom was there. She told us that our dad had died.”

Chris said the documentary “cracks open” John’s childhood and how he was affected by losing a father at a young age. “It tells the story of how it thrust him into early adulthood, how he dealt with it, how he organized his pain and how that pain presented in his body and mind. How he took care of everyone else before he would take care of himself.”

Chris said that as the movie came together, he saw his dad’s life be “reconstructed.” He explained, “It was a strange, unique experience that taught me there is not only a genetic inheritance from our parents but a psychological one as well, and that to grow in this lifetime is a process with no end.”

“In my dad’s absence, I had always longed for his guidance; in a way, I felt I was granted my wish.”

John grew up in Toronto, where, at age 22, he joined the famed Second City improv comedy troupe, which led to him starring on the TV show SCTV. He began appearing in movies regularly in the 1980s, including 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, which was written by his friend John Hughes. His breakthrough was his supporting role in 1984’s Splash.

He and Hughes, who died in 2009, collaborated on hits like 1987’s Planes, Trains & Automobiles and 1989’s Uncle Buck. Other films included Home Alone, The Rescuers Down Under and Cool Runnings.

Candy is also the subject of a new book, John Candy: A Life in Comedy, which will hit bookstores this October.  Author Paul Myers told PEOPLE, “I found Candy’s journey especially compelling because he was such a big star, then died so young, but everyone still loves him, and to this day, it’s virtually impossible to find anyone who didn’t.”

John Candy: I Like Me streams Oct. 10 on Prime Video.