John Hughes 1950-2009.

John Hughes (image: APC)

"John Hughes, Jr. (February 18, 1950-August 6, 2009) was an American film director, producer and writer.

He made some of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s.

[...]

His first directorial effort, Sixteen Candles, won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more realistic depiction of middle-class high school life, which stood in stark contrast to the Porky's-inspired comedies being made at the time.

It was also the first in a string of efforts set in or around high school, including 'The Breakfast Club', 'Pretty in Pink', 'Weird Science' and 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'.

To avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of teen comedies, Hughes branched out in 1987, directing 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' starring Steve Martin and John Candy."

Still from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

"He also wrote screenplays using his pseudonym, Edmond Dantès (protagonist of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel The Count of Monte Cristo).

In 1994, Hughes retired from the public eye and moved to Wisconsin, rarely granting or giving interviews or photographs to the media save a select few interviews in 1999 to promote the soundtrack album to Reach the Rock, an independent film he wrote. The album was compiled by Hughes' son, John Hughes III, and released on his son's Chicago-based record label, Hefty Records. He also recorded an audio commentary for the 1999 DVD release of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. A photograph of him visiting his son on the set of his son's film in 2001 was the last photo taken of him in public."


John Hughes has had a an enormous impact on the language of film and been a source of inspiration to many film makers, perhaps most notably the director Wes Anderson.

Hughes died in Manhattan on August 6th 2009 apparently from a heart attack.

Read more from the Guardian, the Independent, the New York Times.