Since I started blogging, the world has lost some serious heavyweights:  Gerry Schoenfeld, Paul Newman, etc.

Yesterday, we lost the guy who was probably most influential on my career . . . John Hughes.

I know, it seems nuts to say that if it wasn’t for an 80s teen-movie maker I wouldn’t be here, but in a way, it’s true.  I consider myself part of what I call “The VCR Generation”.  I was a part of the first set of teens that were able to watch our favorite movies over and over and over, in the comfort of our own living room.

And I did.  I watched Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Ferris Bueller and everything else John did over and over and over . . . with a 6 pack of Coke and a bag of Jiffy Pop popcorn, shaken over a gas stove.

Years later and pop . . . just like the kernels in that bag of aluminum foil . . . out comes the idea for The Awesome 80s Prom!

I never met him.  Not many people did late in his life.  He became a bit of a loner, a lot like Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club.  But he’ll always be like Ferris to me. And now it’s my time to say, “Danke schoen.”

Impacts on generations can sometimes come from the most unlikely of places.  While getting drunk on New Coke and stuffing my face with buttery and slightly charred Jiffy Pop, I never would have imagined that those movies would move me to actually make a show about them!

And someday, you’ll have an impact on someone you’ve never met, just like John had on me.

That’ll be cool when it happens, won’t it?