---
name: "Gil Friesen"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/gil-friesen"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "19 March 1937"
died: "13 December 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T05:17:05.690596+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gil Friesen

Producer. Born 19 March 1937 in Pasadena. Died 13 December 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 19 March 1937, Pasadena
- **Died:** 13 December 2012
- **Active:** 1985–2013
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as producer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 75 (1), 2010s 74 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16019388, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0295648/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/950463

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*20 Feet from Stardom*](https://film.one/film/20-feet-from-stardom.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Gil Friesen was an American music executive and film producer. He served as president of A&M Records from 1977 until the label's sale in 1990, having joined the company early in its history after starting in the mailroom at Capitol Records.

He established A&M Films in 1981 and worked as executive producer on *The Breakfast Club* (1985), *Better Off Dead...* (1985) and *One Crazy Summer* (1986). Friesen produced *Blaze* (1989) and the documentary *20 Feet from Stardom* (2013), which he initiated and which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature after his death.

Friesen died of leukaemia on 13 December 2012.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *20 Feet from Stardom* (2013), Fi1m 74, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/20-feet-from-stardom.md)
- *The Breakfast Club* (1985), Fi1m 75, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-breakfast-club.md)

## Also known for

- *Better Off Dead...* (1985), Executive Producer
- *One Crazy Summer* (1986), Executive Producer
- *The Mighty Quinn* (1989), Executive Producer
- *Blaze* (1989), Producer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gil-friesen