Director John Hughes Dies of Heart Attack at 59
John Hughes, the director of classic 1980s comedies such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Sixteen Candles, has died. He was 59.
The director suffered a heart attack Thursday while taking a morning walk in New York City, where he was visiting family, a spokeswoman for Hughes told TVGuide.com
Born on February 18th, 1950 in Michigan, Hughes began his career as an advertising copywriter in Chicago. He got his start in comedy writing by selling jokes to Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. He later submitted a story about a family vacation from his childhood to National Lampoon magazine, which became the basis for National Lampoon's Vacation.
He made his directorial debut in 1984 with Sixteen Candles, which starred Molly Ringwald as Samantha Baker, a young woman whose 16th birthday goes horribly wrong. He re-teamed with Ringwald the following year for The Breakfast Club, which focused on five high school stereotypes who bond one day during detention, and again in Pretty in Pink, which he produced.
His other directing achievements in the '80s included Weird Science, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Uncle Buck.
Though he stepped away from directing in the early '90s, Hughes wrote such films as Home Alone, Beethoven, 101 Dalmatians, Flubber and most recently earned a story credit for the Owen Wilson comedy Drillbit Taylor.
He spent his time out of the spotlight with his family and maintained a farm in northern Illinois. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, two sons and four grandchildren.
