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John Wilden Hughes, Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed or scripted some of the most successful films of the 1980s and 1990s, including National Lampoon's Vacation; Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Weird Science; The Breakfast Club; Some Kind of Wonderful; Sixteen Candles; Pretty in Pink; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Uncle Buck; Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

He is known as the king of teen movies as well as helping launch the careers of actors including Michael Keaton, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Bill Paxton, Matthew Broderick, Macaulay Culkin, John Candy, and the up-and-coming actors collectively nicknamed the Brat Pack.

Early life

Hughes was born in Lansing, Michigan, to a mother who volunteered in charity work and John Hughes, Sr., who worked in sales. He spent the first twelve years of his life in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Hughes described himself as "kind of quiet" as a kid.

"I grew up in a neighborhood that was mostly girls and old people. There weren't any boys my age, so I spent a lot of time by myself, imagining things. And every time we would get established somewhere, we would move. Life just started to get good in seventh grade, and then we moved to Chicago. I ended up in a really big high school, and I didn't know anybody. But then The Beatles came along (and) changed my whole life. And then Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home came out and really changed me. Thursday I was one person, and Friday I was another. My heroes were Dylan, John Lennon and Picasso, because they each moved their particular medium forward, and when they got to the point where they were comfortable, they always moved on."

In 1963, Hughes's family moved to Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where Hughes's father found work selling roofing materials. It was there that Hughes attended Glenbrook North High School, the school that would provide inspiration for the films that would make his reputation in later years.

Career

After dropping out of the The University of Arizona, Hughes began selling jokes to well-established performers such as Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. Hughes used his jokes to get an entry-level job at Needham, Harper & Steers as an advertising copywriter in Chicago in 1970 and later in 1974 at Leo Burnett Worldwide. During this time, he created what became the famous Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" ad campaign.

Hughes's work on the Virginia Slims account frequently took him to the Philip Morris headquarters in New York City. This gave him the opportunity to hang around the offices of the National Lampoon magazine. Hughes subsequently penned a story, inspired by his family trips as a child, that was to become his calling card and entry onto the staff of the magazine. That piece, "Vacation '58", later became the basis for the film National Lampoon's Vacation. Among his other contributions to the Lampoon, the April Fools' Day stories "My Penis" and "My Vagina" gave an early indication of Hughes's ear for the particular rhythm of teen speak, as well as the various indignities of teen life in general.

His first credited screenplay, Class Reunion, was written while still on staff at the magazine. The resulting film became the second disastrous attempt by the flagship to duplicate the runaway success of Animal House. It was Hughes's next screenplay for the imprint, National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), that would prove to be a major hit, putting the Lampoon back on the map. That film's success, along with the success of another of Hughes' scripts, Mr. Mom, earned Hughes a three movie deal with Universal Studios.

Hughes's directorial debut, Sixteen Candles, won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more honest depiction of upper middle class high school life, in stark contrast to the Porky's-inspired comedies made at the time. It was the first in a string of efforts set in or around high school, including The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (see also Brat Pack) and Some Kind of Wonderful.

To avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of teen comedies, Hughes branched out in 1987, directing the smash hit Planes, Trains and Automobiles starring Steve Martin and John Candy. His later output would not be so critically well received, though films like Uncle Buck proved popular. Hughes's greatest commercial success came with Home Alone, a film he wrote and produced about a child accidentally left behind when his family goes away for Christmas, forcing him to protect himself and his house from a pair of inept burglars. Home Alone was the top grossing film of 1990, and remains the most successful live-action comedy of all time. His last film as a director was 1991's Curly Sue.

He also wrote screenplays under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes (or Dantès), after the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Screenplays submitted under this pseudonym were Maid in Manhattan, Drillbit Taylor, and the Beethoven franchise.

In 1994, Hughes retired from the public eye and moved back to the Chicago area. Hughes was considerably shaken by John Candy's sudden death of a heart attack that same year. "He talked a lot about how much he loved Candy—if Candy had lived longer, I think John would have made more films as a director," says Vince Vaughn, a friend of Hughes. In the years following, Hughes rarely granted interviews to the media save a select few in 1999 to promote the soundtrack album to Reach the Rock, an independent film he wrote. The album was compiled by Hughes's 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.

Death

Hughes died of a heart attack on August 6, 2009 while walking in Manhattan where he was visiting his family. On that morning, Hughes was on West 55th Street in Manhattan when he was struck with chest pains. At 8:55 a.m., 9-1-1 operators summoned paramedics to assist. Hughes was unconscious when they arrived several minutes later. Hughes was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was 59 years old. Hughes's funeral took place on August 11 in Chicago. In addition to his wife and two sons, Hughes was survived by four grandchildren.

Legacy

The pilot episode of the NBC comedy Community, broadcast on September 17, 2009, was dedicated to Hughes. The episode included several references to The Breakfast Club and ended with a cover of "Don't You". The One Tree Hill episode titled "Don't You Forget About Me", broadcast on February 1, 2010, ended with a scene similar to the ending scene of Sixteen Candles and included some other references to his movies such as Home Alone. The 2011 Bob's Burgers episode "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?" also paid homage to Sixteen Candles.

After Hughes' death, many of those who knew him, commented on the impact Hughes had on them, and on the film industry. Judd Apatow said "Basically, my stuff is just John Hughes films with four-letter words. I feel like a part of my childhood has died. Nobody made me laugh harder or more often than John Hughes." Molly Ringwald said, "I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes. He was and will always be such an important part of my life.... He will be missed – by me and by everyone that he has touched. My heart and all my thoughts are with his family now." Matthew Broderick also released his own statement, saying, "I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family."

The 82nd Academy Awards included a tribute to Hughes' work. A retrospective of clips from Hughes' films was followed by cast members from several of them, including Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Macaulay Culkin, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall and Jon Cryer, gathering on stage to commemorate the man and his contributions to the film industry.

The animated film ParaNorman, is dedicated in his memory and the film's four main characters even have the same character styles as The Breakfast Club.

Hughes is buried in Lake Forest Cemetery in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	(Executive) Producer	Writer
1979	Delta House (TV show)			N
1982	National Lampoon's Class Reunion			N
1983	At Ease			N
	Mr. Mom			N
	Vacation			N
	Nate and Hayes			N
1984	Sixteen Candles	N		N
1985	The Breakfast Club	N	N	N
	European Vacation			N
	Weird Science	N		N
1986	Pretty in Pink		N	N
	Ferris Bueller's Day Off	N	N	N
1987	Some Kind of Wonderful		N	N
	Planes, Trains and Automobiles	N	N	N
1988	She's Having a Baby	N	N	N
	The Great Outdoors		N	N
1989	Uncle Buck	N	N	N
	Christmas Vacation		N	N
1990	Home Alone		N	N
1991	Career Opportunities		N	N
	Only the Lonely		N
	Dutch			N
	Curly Sue	N	N	N
1992	Beethoven			N
	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York		N	N
1993	Dennis the Menace		N	N
1994	Baby's Day Out		N	N
	Miracle on 34th Street		N	N
1996	101 Dalmatians		N	N
1997	Flubber			N
	Home Alone 3		N	N
1998	Reach the Rock		N	N
2001	Just Visiting			N
	New Port South		N
2002	Maid in Manhattan			N
2008	Drillbit Taylor			N

Unproduced screenplays

• The History of Ohio From The Beginning of Time to the End of the Universe (with P. J. O'Rourke)
• Jaws 3: People 0 – a parody sequel to the popular series.
• The New Kid
• Bartholomew Vs. Neff – a vehicle that would have starred Sylvester Stallone and John Candy as feuding neighbors.
• The Bee – a feature length Disney film.
• Grisbeys Go Broke – a wealthy family loses their fortune, forcing them to move to the other side of the tracks during Christmas.
• Tickets – Teens wait overnight for free tickets to a farewell concert.
• Oil and Vinegar – A soon-to-be-married man and a hitchhiking girl end up talking about their lives during the length of the car ride.

Frequent casting

Several actors appeared in multiple films directed by Hughes. The late John Candy appeared more than any other actor, with eight film credits. Other frequently cast actors included:

• Edie McClurg (five films)
• Macaulay Culkin (four films)
• Anthony Michael Hall (four films)
• William Windom (four films)
• John Ashton (three films)
• John Candy (three films)
• Chevy Chase (three films)
• Bill Erwin (three films)
• Larry Hankin (three films)
• John Kapelos (three films)
• Molly Ringwald (three films)

Books

• 1950 births
• 2009 deaths
• 20th-century American writers
• 21st-century American writers
• American farmers
• American film directors
• American film producers
• American screenwriters
• American television writers
• Arizona State University alumni
• Burials in Illinois
• Cardiovascular disease deaths in New York
• Deaths from myocardial infarction
• Film directors from Illinois
• Film directors from Michigan
• National Lampoon people
• People from Grosse Pointe, Michigan
• People from Lansing, Michigan
• People from Northbrook, Illinois
• Writers from Illinois
• Writers from Michigan