John Hughes' secret pen pal reveals why he left Hollywood behind

Life may be unfair, in the sense that we lost John Hughes this week at the ridiculously tender age of 59. In a sense, we lost him even earlier, since he fled Hollywood in the early 1990s, silencing one of the most original voices of his generation.

But life is fair in the sense that Hughes had an opportunity to touch so many lives, as is evident from this blog post from Alison Byrne Fields, a Washington-based social media strategy director who revealed Thursday that she was Hughes' teen pen pal for two years in the mid-1980s. She admits to being a typical teenager -- a pesky handful. In her post, she says that when she first wrote a passionate letter to the filmmaker, she received a form letter in response welcoming her as an "official" member of "The Breakfast Club" fan club. She was so peeved that she fired off a snippy reply: "I just poured out my [expletive] heart to you and YOU SENT ME A FORM  LETTER."

Hughes wrote back to apologize. But in 1987, when she didn't hear from Hughes for a few months, Fields tracked down producer Ned Tanen, telling him she hoped he could give the filmmaker a "poke" and figure out why he wasn't responding. Instead of dismissing her as a pushy teenager, Hughes sent her a giant gift package of T-shirts, tapes and her own special "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" watch, with a note saying: "I missed you too. Don't get me in trouble with my boss. John Hughes." 

The most revealing part of the post involves a phone call Fields had with Hughes in 1997, when she was working on a diversity education project and reconnected with him. They ended up talking for an hour. Her account of their conversation provides the first real concrete explanation for why Hughes left the movie business at the top of his game. It serves as an affecting reminder to artists of the importance of keeping their priorities straight. As Fields writes:

John told me about why he left Hollywood just a few years earlier. He was terrified of the impact it was having on his sons; he was scared it was going to cause them to lose perspective on what was important and what happiness meant. And he told me a sad story about how, a big reason behind his decision to give it all up was that "they" (Hollywood) had "killed" his friend, John Candy, by greedily working him too hard.

Fields ends by saying that she owes a great debt to Hughes, not the least of which being her gratitude toward a man who "took the time to make a little girl believe that, if she had something to say, someone would listen." It's hard to ask for a better tribute to a man who didn't just make wonderful movies, but lived a wonderful life too.

Comments

[Preity]

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Hughes. The insight into this man, provided by his pen-pal, gives us an idea about how sincere and genuine he was. May God bless his family as they cope with his loss and as they try to find the level of courage he had in order to carry on in his absence.

[Kristjan Sigurjonsson]

I was shocked like many other and saddened to hear of Mr. Hughes death. The insight into this gentleman, provided by his friend, gives us an idea about how sincere and honest he was.

[J. Sperling Reich]

Thank you very much for bringing our attention to Alison Byrne Fields post about her pen-pal relationship with John Hughes. It was incredibly interesting and I certainly would have overlooked it otherwise.

Given that I haven't read a really decent obituary for John Hughes I would have to agree with you that Fields post and sentiment may be the best tribute yet to the filmmaker.

[OTIRUDAM]

I am convinced that John Hughes films Home Alone I and II are one of the best pictures I have seen. They are masterfully executed, easily understandable, greatly photographed and edited, funny, entertaining, beautifully paced. All the characters are wonderfully portrayed. I wouldn't called them masterpieces, for this is a bigger than life expression. I just loved them. Narratively they are almost impeccable. Thank you John wherever you are now. All the actors that worked in this pictures were all just marvelous: starting with Macauley Caulkin, all the McCallister family, those incredible crooks (both of them), all the employees at the New York Plaza Hotel (or whatever name that hotel had), and even a cameo appearance of Donald Trump passing through the lobby's hotel (?). Kevin's mother will always remain superb!!!!!!!!

[Danny Bloom]

What did Mr Hughes die from exactly? Overweight? Diabetes? Heart ailment? What? The media is not telling us.

[K.]

He died of a heart attack. ALL the media are sharing this.

[Dorothy]

This made me a little misty. How often do you hear about a megaproducer who's actually kind of a great guy?

This video made me misty too-- the Top 5 John Hughes movie scenes. Especially #1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EWLKDvYFU

[Harry]

It's ironic that Hughes would be upset that "they" were responsible for Candy's death, when he produced "Home Alone", a movie that arguably screwed up Macaulay Culkin's life pretty badly. No, I'm not blaming Hughes. Obviously Culkin had messed up parents, but I'm sure Hughes didn't bother returning any of that money he made off of Culkin, either.