Sad news to pass along … John Hughes, the man who created some of the most iconic movies of the 1980′s, passed away Thursday at the age of 59 after suffering a fatal heart attack in NYC earlier in the day. As I understand it, Hughes was out for his morning walk in Manhattan when he suffered his heart attack … unfortch for all of us, he could not be saved:

John Hughes, the director and screenwriter who helped define a young generation with his ’80s films “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink,” has died. Michelle Bega, a spokeswoman for the filmmaker, told the Associated Press that Mr. Hughes died of a heart attack in Manhattan during a morning walk. Mr. Hughes first began as a screenwriter, gaining notoriety for his screenplay for “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” which became a popular franchise. But his true success came with his directorial debut, “Sixteen Candles,” which made a star out of its young lead, Molly Ringwald. Mr. Hughes was responsible for a slew of films in the 1980s that defined what it meant to be an American teenager, from the music to the fashion to the social faux pas. His universe of nerds and jocks, socialites and misfits, rockers and rebels – not to mention overbearing principals, clueless teachers and absentee parents – also influenced a generation of movie-goers and -makers, versing them in a common language of pop culture idioms that persists decades on. “Mess with the bull, get the horns.” He made a star of quirky girls – as embodied by Ms. Ringwald in “Pretty in Pink” and “16 Candles” (and Ally Sheedy in “The Breakfast Club”) – and charmingly cocky, off-center boys, like Matthew Broderick’s character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” (“Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?”) Though Mr. Hughes graduated to more adult fare with films like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and had his biggest hits with explicitly family-oriented material like “Home Alone,” he remains associated with creating an ideal of American youth that allowed for idiosyncrasy and growth. Cliques could reliably be broken down, the girl could get the guy, and parents would always go out of town so you could have a killer house party.

Words cannot express how sad John‘s passing is for those of us who grew up with his films in the 80′s. He almost single-handedly defined and allowed us to identify with the teen angst of the 1980′s. While I love many of his films (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty In Pink, Weird Science and on and on), I am most fond of his Brat Pack masterpiece The Breakfast Club. That film is, IMHO, the one film that most defined the lives of teenagers in the 1980′s. John Hughes will be sorely missed and can never, ever be replaced. John Hughes was to movies of the 80′s what Michael Jackson was to music of the 80′s — both men defined the 80′s each in their own craft. While my thoughts and prayers go out to his family right now, I want to send out my LOVE AND THANKS into the Universe in the hopes that John knows how much he meant to us. What a sad, sad loss :(

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us — in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain … and an athlete … and a basket case … a princess … and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

The Breakfast Club

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