John Candy’s Friends Detail the ‘Crippling’ Anxiety He Faced in Final Days (Exclusive)

After his death in 1994, John Candy’s family and closest friends — among them Catherine O’Hara, Bill Murray and Martin Short — gathered to honor the legendary comedian, who died at 43 from a heart attack while filming in Mexico. 

The outpouring of love extended far beyond the walls of the Los Angeles church where his funeral was held. In a rare moment of reverence, the 405 freeway was shut down in his honor. “It’s only been done twice before — once for the Pope, once for the President,” Eugene Levy, a pallbearer at the funeral, recalls in the new documentary John Candy: I Like Me. “You know you’ve made it when they’re closing freeways for you.”

Now, 31 years later, those who knew and loved the Canadian star are gathering once again in a new documentary — premiering Oct. 10 on Prime Video — that revisits his enduring legacy and deepest struggles.

Described by Dan Aykroyd as “a titan of a gentle, golden man,” Candy is remembered only with affection. “I wish I had some more bad things to say about him, but that’s the problem when you talk about John. He was good to people,” Murray, 75, Candy’s costar in Stripes, says in the documentary. 

“I have a vivid memory of him at my parents’ wedding,” actor Colin Hanks, the director of the film and son of Tom Hanks — who costarred with Candy in Splash and Volunteers — tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “He took the time to make sure I was doing okay and having a good time. Because I was pretty much one kid surrounded by a whole bunch of adults. That’s the kind of man John was.” 

Candy’s instinct to care for others was born out of early tragedy. Raised in Toronto, he was just five years old when his father, Sidney, died suddenly of a heart attack at age 35 — on his son’s birthday. “John took over being the dad,” recalls Rose Candy, the star’s wife from 1979 until his death. “He was the child that made everyone happy.” That loss shaped his humor, which became both a gift and a shield. In high school, he took on the role of “the funny kid,” a persona that, in part, masked the grief he still carried. “I was probably still in shock from all the tragedies I think that we dealt with,” Candy, who found refuge in performing, says in an old interview shown in the film.

As his fame grew — with standout roles in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Uncle Buck — so did public scrutiny, particularly around his weight, an ever-present sensitive subject. “There was something about John where he played off of his own vulnerability and real-life insecurities,” Ryan Reynolds, who produced the film, tells PEOPLE.

While he devoted himself to making others feel good, Candy often neglected his own health and well-being, quietly struggling with rising anxiety and worsening physical health. “He had this sort of tendency to act like he was running out of time,” Reynolds, 48, adds. “Unfortunately, in John’s case, he was.”

While filming Wagons East!, Candy’s “crippling, chronic” anxiety reached a peak. He had an anxiety attack on his way to set but kept it to himself. Not long after, he died in his sleep. “When I heard how they found him, and it looked like he had sat up on the side of the bed and opened up the Bible and was reading from it and just passed away on the bed, I remember thinking how he was trying to find home,” recalls longtime friend Don Lake in the film.

His children still vividly remember the shock of the news. “It’s a day that you’ll never forget. I was studying for a social studies test at school,” Jennifer Candy, 45, who was 13 at the time, tells PEOPLE. Adds Chris Candy, 41: “I was 8. It’s a lifetime of dealing with it.”

“This movie feels nice because we get to say goodbye again, this time in a celebratory manner,” Chris adds. “Now we get to laugh and enjoy who he was, and that part is such a gift.” Reynolds continues: “It’s a documentary on his life, not his death. It’s kind of an ode to joy.”