Director/writer John Hughes never won an Oscar. In fact, he never came close – he was never nominated for an Oscar. Or, a Golden Globe for that matter. Or much of anything. The only award I could find on the Internet Movie Database was the ShoWest Producer of the Year award in 1991.
But, throw out some quotes like “Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?” or “No more yanky my wanky” and most people between the ages of 50 and 30 can tell you what movies those quotes came from and chances are they will spew out more quotes from John Hughes movies. He never made a box office blockbuster like Titanic. But, if you check your weekly television guide, chances are you will find Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, or The Breakfast Club on, some 20-odd years after the movies were made. John Hughes made movies that spoke to a generation, but his movies are also speaking to new generations because he was so good at touching on both the good and bad parts of being a teen.
Not long ago, I was thinking of writing a blog about how John Hughes had disappeared. After a decade of a writing and directing career that brought us not only the films above, but also Mr. Mom, National Lampoon’s Vacation and two of its sequels, Pretty in Pink, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, She’s Having a Baby, and Home Alone, John Hughes made a few stinkers in the ‘90s. By the mid-‘90s, he had all but quit the business, rarely giving interviews and it is believed the last public photo of him was taken in 2001.
Hughes died today in Manhattan of a heart attack while out walking in his neighborhood. He left his wife of 39 years, Nancy, his two sons, and four grandchildren. But, he also left us a treasure trove of great movies. He introduced the world to teen actors such as Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Macaulay Culkin. He gave us the humor of John Candy and paired that with the legendary Steve Martin. He came up with great characters like Ferris Bueller, Clark W. Griswold, and Richard Vernon, the teacher we all despised in high school.
I am saddened by John Hughes’ death today, but there is a bigger part of me that just wants to celebrate his work.