John Hughes (filmmaker)
John Wilden Hughes Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He began his career in 1970 as an author of humorous essays and stories for the National Lampoon magazine. He went on in Hollywood to write, produce and sometimes direct some of the most successful live-action comedy films of the 1980s. He directed such films as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, She's Having a Baby, and Uncle Buck; and wrote the films National Lampoon's Vacation, Mr. Mom, Pretty in Pink, The Great Outdoors, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Dutch, and Beethoven.
John Hughes | |
|---|---|
Hughes at the premiere of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992 | |
| Born | John Wilden Hughes Jr. February 18, 1950 Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 2009 (aged 59) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lake Forest Cemetery |
| Other names | Edmond Dantès |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970–2009 |
| Employer(s) | Hughes Entertainment (1987–2002) and others |
| Spouse |
Nancy Ludwig (m. 1970) |
| Children | 2 |
Most of Hughes' works were set in Chicago. He is best known for his coming-of-age teen comedy films with honest depictions of suburban teenage life. Many of his most enduring characters from these years were written for Molly Ringwald.
While out on a walk one morning in New York City in the summer of 2009, Hughes suffered a fatal heart attack. His legacy after his death was honored by many, including at the 82nd Academy Awards by many actors he had worked with such as Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Anthony Michael Hall, Chevy Chase, and Macaulay Culkin, among others. Actors whose careers Hughes helped launch include Michael Keaton, Hall, Bill Paxton, Broderick, Culkin, and members of the Brat Pack group.