Don't You Forget About Me

John Hughes, screenwriter/producer/director of some of the iconic teen movies of the 80s, passed away today. Reports I've seen said that he had a heart attack while going for a walk. He was 59.

He's the guy who brought us Sixteen Candles (wisely putting our favoirte trio on the soundtrack, performing the title song while the credits rolled at the end), The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, Planes,Trains, and Automobiles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, the National Lampoon Vacation pictures, and many others.

I admit to coming to my Setzer obsession quite a bit later than many of you did. I liked Stray Cats and a lot of the other stuff I was hearing on the radio, but at the time, my real love was movies. And the movies of John Hughes were a huge part of that experience for me.

I'm thankful for the hours of enjoyment I've gotten from his movies. He will be missed.

Mr. Hughes, you will be missed.

A toast!

I found this the other day as I was combing the internet forreaction to Hughes' passing:

http://wellknowwhenwegetthere.blogspot.com/2009/08/sincerely-john-hughes.html

It's the blog of a young woman who, when she was a teen, was John Hughes's pen pal. It's a pretty cool read.

Thanks for posting this, Bear. John Hughes' movies defined my teenage years. Everyone of his movies you listed brings back tons of memories. All good, well, mostly good. The bad ones are long forgotten. 59 is so young...may he rip, and his loved ones remember him fondly.

"I'm off like a dirty shirt. "--Ducky
hrg