John Hughes graduated from the school of life on August 6th, 2009.
The man behind some of the most memorable and commercially successful films of the '80s and '90s suffered a heart attack while taking a walk in Manhattan, according to his publicist. He never recovered. The 59-year-old native of Illinois was in New York visiting his family.
Hughes is best known for directing The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science and Sixteen Candles. He wrote such films as National Lampoon's Vacation, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, and Beethoven - the last of which he penned under a pseudonym. His production credits include many of those films and others such as Dennis the Menace and Flubber. John Hughes will be remembered as one of suburban Illinois' most passionate citizens, the man who gave rise to The Brat Pack and, ultimately, one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century.
Update 3/8/2010: The 2010 Oscars delivered a moving tribute to John Hughes, bringing together an impressive cadre of his former stars to eulogize the famed director.
Former teen-movie sweetheart Molly Ringwald appeared with Ferris Bueller's Day Off star Matthew Broderick, introducing numerous former members of Hughes' legendary brat pack to offer their memories.
Guests included Ringwald and Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Macaulay Culkin, Jon Cryer, and Anthony Michael Hall.
UGO pays tribute to the late director and his wonderful ability to create characters with The Totally Awesome Losers of John Hughes.
