John Hughes, whose teen movies spoke to a generation of eighties kids, has died of a heart attack at the age of 59. He made his name with a large sector of the moviegoing public in self-penned and often self-directed efforts like National Lampoon's Vacation (he started his writing career with the humourists), Sixteen Candles (which made a star of Molly Ringwald), The Breakfast Club, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He tried a more grown up comedy with Planes, Trains and Automobiles, then enjoyed the biggest hit of his career when he went for the family audiences in his script for Home Alone. He had not directed a film since Curly Sue in 1991, but continued to script, often under a pseudonym as he became more reclusive: Beethoven, 101 Dalmatians, Flubber, Maid in Mahattan and Drillbit Taylor all enjoyed his input. He divides film fans to this day, but his success was undeniably influential among Generation X.
