The mid-Canada branch of Women In Film and Television landed the witty Carla Collins as an eleventh-hour fill-in host for its Crystal Awards 2000 gala last month when the woman scheduled to emcee called in sick hours before the show. Kim Campbell, who generally hosts gala evenings as Canada’s consul general in l.a., said she was too sick to travel to the WIFT-Toronto event on the day of the event.

But the advocacy group deftly headed off a potential disaster as Collins, who launched the new comedy/variety show Chez Carla April 23 on The Comedy Network, proved a quick study with an unfamiliar script and an instant stand-up routine.

Collins even managed to poke gentle fun at her ‘boss’ – one of the evening’s award recipients, ctv senior vp of programming Susanne Boyce – by doing an impression of Boyce speaking without using verbs. After Boyce gave her acceptance speech, Collins cheered the inclusion of both verbs and adverbs.

As previously reported, other Crystal Awards winners were: Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting’s Phyllis Yaffe, actor Wendy Crewson, Imported Artists owner/president Christina Ford, Tattersall Sound president Jane Tattersall and Paul Gratton, vp and gm of Space: The Imagination Station and station manager of Bravo!, who received the Friend of WIFT award.