Sponsor
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Breakfast Club Writer/Director, John Hughes, Dies at 59

John Hughes dies

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.

Director John Hughes, 59, has died, according to TMZ. He was in New York City on a trip taking a morning walk when he suffered from a heart attack today. Hughes' movies--some of them that he wrote, director or both--many of them based in around Chicago, included classics such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. After stepping back from the film industry, he resided in Northern Illinois on a functioning farm, enjoying his time with a family and supporting independent art, notes Variety. R.I.P., John Hughes and you were right when you wrote this line for Ferris: "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Chip in now to fund your local journalism

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right