John Hughes Biography

writer and director
Born: February 18, 1950
Died: August 6, 2009 (New York, USA)
Best Known as: writer and director

John Hughes helped create some of the most memorable and successful films of the 80's and 90's. He wrote the screenplays for National Lampoon's Vacation, European Vacation, and Christmas Vacation, all of which star Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold and remain in heavy rotation on cable TV. But Hughes is best known for his work with teens. Films like Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, all written and directed by Hughes, defined the pop-culture vernacular for a generation of teens, and made stars out of a group of young actors that came to be known as the "Brat Pack." He also wrote and produced Home Alone in 1990, one of the highest-grossing films of all-time, and worked on the sequels as well. Hughes died suddenly of a heart attack on August 6, 2009, at the age of 59.