Director John Hughes has died of a heart attack in New York on Thursday, August 6, 2009. He was just 59 years old.
Hughes directed pretty much every great ’80s movie there is, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink and
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, produced hits like the Home Alone franchise and wrote innumerable more flicks like the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise,
Planes, Trains and Automobiles, She’s Having a Baby, the Beethoven franchise and Maid in Manhattan.
Much of the work of Hughes, most notably his ’80s teen angst films, defined a generation and is still beloved today. “Many filmmakers portray teenagers as immoral and ignorant, with pursuits that
are pretty base,” he said, and strove to do the exact opposite.
“…everybody at that age thinks they’re so different. But once you get beyond the surface, it turns out that they all have pretty much the same problems and concerns. The same issues affect them
all, though maybe in different ways.”
“At the time I came along, Hollywood’s idea of teen movies meant there had to be a lot of nudity, usually involving boys in pursuit of sex, and pretty gross overall. Either that or a horror
movie. And the last thing Hollywood wanted in their teen movies was teenagers!”
Hughes went to the big Breakfast Club in the sky after suffering a heart attack while walking to see his parents in New York City.
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, and their two adult sons John and James. He also had four grandchildren, who we hope will one day understand and appreciate their grandpa’s legacy.
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