John Hughes, the writer/director who made Judd Apatow’s career possible, passed away yesterday, August 6, 2009. Hughes, dubbed “the Bard of teen angst” by Entertainment Weekly, died from a sudden heart attack while visiting family in Manhattan. He was 59. The notoriously reclusive filmmaker, whose last credited work was on 2008’s Drillbit Taylor, will be best remembered for his seminal teen comedies (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club) and his blockbuster family films (the Home Alone franchise.)

Born in 1950 and raised in the Chicago suburbs he would immortalize in his films, Hughes first credited work was on a short-lived 1979 Animal House spinoff, Delta House. He had his first hit as a screenwriter with the Michael Keaton vehicle Mr. Mom and wrote 1982’s Vacation with Chevy Chase before landing in the director’s chair with Sixteen Candles Love Takes Wing psp .

Sixteen Candles was Hughes’ first film with his breakout star Molly Ringwald. He later directed her in The Breakfast Club and wrote her 1986 film Pretty in Pink. Their partnership culminated with Ringwald’s appearance on Time Magazine’s cover, where she was dubbed America’s Sweetheart, and both were praised for their films’ portrayal of teen life.

In addition to discovering Ringwald, Hughes is credited with launching the film career of Matthew Broderick, with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The oft-quoted comedy may be Hughes’ best loved work, from Ben Stein’s infamous roll call (“Bueller?… Bueller?.. Bueller?…”) and Ferris’ downtown Chicago lip synch to the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”

Hughes’ finished off the eighties with a pair of hits, Uncle Buck and Trains, Planes and Automobiles, starring his good friend, the late John Candy. His last film as a director was 1991’s family film Curly Sue, but he continued to be a prolific screenwriter, producing the biggest hit of his career, with Home Alone in 1992. After those films, he worked largely under the pen name Edmond Dantes, writing hits like 101 Dalmatians and Maid in Manhattan, starring Jennifer Lopez.

While he will be most remembered for his teen comedies and the actors whose careers he jump-started, Hughes’ most enduring legacy can be seen at a multiplex near you. From the adolescent antics of The Hangover or the dramedy Funny People, Hughes’ influence is evident. He may not have created the prototype of the lovable man-child, but he was the first screenwriter to suggest this character could be more than the sidekick. In films like Planes, Trains and Automobiles and cult classic Dutch, he sowed the seeds of the Frat Pack comedies, making lovable losers the whole story and not just the B plot. Without John Hughes, there would be no Judd Apatow or Todd Phillips.

Surely several cable networks will be paying tribute to John Hughes’ life and career this weekend – but go out and rent the The Breakfast Club or Uncle Buck, a personal favorite of mine. Or maybe just go out and live a little. After all, as a wise young man once reminded us, “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

–Sarah Hudson