Biography for
John Hughes (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

18 February 1950, Lansing, Michigan, USA

Date of Death

6 August 2009, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

John Wilden Hughes Jr.

Spouse

Nancy Ludwig

(1970 - 6 August 2009) (his death) 2 children

Trade Mark

Movies often take place in Shermer, Illinois.

Sets films in Chicago area.

Most of his teen movies from the 1980s have a scene in the school lunchroom, school library, or both.

References to art - characters discussing art or posed to resemble works of art

Close-ups of two characters locking eyes with each other

Many of his 1980s Teen films have the same name as song titles: Sixteen Candles (1984) (Stray Cats), Pretty in Pink (1986) (The Psychedelic Furs), She's Having a Baby (1988) (Dave Wakeling) which are also heard in the film.

His movies usually end with a live action scene ending in a stilled version (the scene "freezes").

Often has one character silently mimicking another character as the line is spoken, as if it's been said before.

Characters who are either stuck in one place or traveling somewhere.

Often has a scene-stealing and usually dotty supporting character which serves little use for the actual plot (for example: Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles (1984) and Chet in Weird Science (1985)).

Trivia

Graduated Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Illinois, USA. [1968]

Started out in the 1970s as a writer for National Lampoon magazine.

A number of his movies have a small scene after the credits.

One reason that John Hughes films are set in Shermer, Illinois, is because Northbrook was once called Shermerville. Furthermore, Glenbrook North High School is located on Shermer Road.

Was a fan of The Beatles and frequently had characters in his movies sing Beatles songs: Anthony Michael Hall (the Geek) sings "Birthday" in Sixteen Candles (1984), Jon Cryer (Duckie) sings "Love" in Pretty in Pink (1986), and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller) sings "Twist & Shout" in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

Used the pen name Edmond Dantès, a homage to the lead character in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).

Wrote roles for John Candy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Molly Ringwald.

Inspired the "Brat Pack" movement of the 1980s.

He wrote two movies where the main character is involved in a race with the theme from Chariots of Fire (1981) going on in the background (Mr. Mom (1983) and Vacation (1983)).

Lived, for some time, in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

Although he was offered the distinguished alumni award from Glenbrook North High School, he refused it in reflection of his not so great memories of the north shore and the school itself.

Father of writer/producer James Hughes and musician John Hughes.

Owned farm land in Harvard, Illinois. (2008).

Personal Quotes

I stumbled into this business, I didn't train for it. I yelled "Action!" on my first two movies before the camera was turned on.

I don't think of kids as a lower form of the human species.

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