Iconic filmmaker John Hughes is dead of a heart attack at 59.
Anyone who came of age in the 80s and early 90s can’t help but remember the John Hughes era thanks to the many, many hours of warm, hilarious and unforgettable memories that sprung from the great man’s Midwestern mind.
John Hughes: 1950-2009
As producer, writer and director, Hughes created timeless stories that teenagers and parents alike will continue to discover a hundred years from now. Rich in universal theme, populated with lovable, relatable outcasts, and told by a creative genius who understood us and never talked down to us, John Hughes enjoyed nearly two decades of Hollywood success before retiring to private life in Chicago sometime in the 90s.
Long before today, we were missing John Hughes.
Fifty-nine is young. Many of us hoped he would come back, but now we’ll have to settle for the rich legacy he left behind; a canon of classics that bring as much pleasure today as they did the first time we saw them.
Here are some Big Hollywood favorites:
1. Vacation (1983) — Funny when you’re a teen, funnier when you’re an adult. We all have more Clark Griswold in us than we care to admit to.
2. Sixteen Candles (1984) — Anthony Michael Hall’s mouthy, gutsy “Geek” won the hottest girl in school and gave hope to geeks everywhere. He still does.
3. The Breakfast Club (1985) — John Hughes was 35 and understood the world of high school better than any high schooler.
4. Pretty in Pink (1986) — Twenty-three years later you say “Duckie” and everyone smiles.
5. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) — Touching, romantic, and underrated. NetFlix it now.
6. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) — On par with the Marx Brothers when it comes to building up rolling, convulsive laughter. Steve Martin’s blow up at the car rental counter is epic comedy.
7. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) — No explanation necessary.
8. Uncle Buck (1989) — If this was the only film Hughes or John Candy had ever made…
9. Christmas Vacation (1989) — Warm, funny and containing more quotable lines than any film in recent memory. Nothing since has ever topped, “Shitter’s full.”
10. Home Alone (1990) — Hollywood’s last Christmas perennial.
And there are many more…
Andrew Breitbart: “During high school I regularly delivered pizza to John Hughes. He always over-tipped. This is a devastating loss. He was a man with immense talent and integrity who refused to allow his masterpieces to be remade and exploited by the studios. In this series of high-profile deaths over the last few months, this is the only one that truly, truly hurts. Talk about the end of an era.”
Rest in Peace, John Hughes… And thank you for standing up for gawky teens, social misfits, and life in the American suburbs.
Thank you most of all for laughing with us, not at us.
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