The writer and director behind some of the most iconic movies of the ’80s and ’90s, John Hughes, died at the age of 59. WATCH VIDEO of his greatest films.

Director Kevin Smith once described John Hughes as "our generation's J.D. Salinger... He touched a generation and then the dude checked out." Hughes had a heart attack "while taking a morning walk during a trip to NYC to visit family," according to TMZ. He directed hit films such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, and produced Home Alone. Born in 1950, Hughes got his start as an ad copywriter in Chicago, and his movies often revolved around the lives of Midwestern suburbanites. In recent years, Hughes has strayed toward being "a Howard Hughes-style recluse," as the Los Angeles Times' Patrick Goldstein characterized him last year. Hughes left Hollywood for his native Chicago, refusing interviews and giving up his agent. He is survived by his wife Nancy, sons John and James, and four grandchildren.

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