Filmmaker Bob Clark Killed in Car Crash

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA--Filmmaker Bob Clark was killed in a tragic car accident on the Pacific Coast Highway early Wednesday morning. He was 67. His son Ariel, 22 at the time, was also killed.

The other driver involved in the collision, Hector Velazquez-Nava, sustained only minor injuries, as did his passenger, Lydia Mora. Velazquez-Nava faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

Clark's career as a producer and director took him down varied roads. Impossible to pigeonhole, his body of work was diverse as the horror cult classic "Black Christmas" (recently remade), the rebellious Timothy Hutton comedy-drama "Turk 182!", the unlikely pairing of Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton in "Rhinestone" and the ill-starred "Baby Geniuses" films. He redefined the teen comedy with the raucous "Porky's", an unabashedly vulgar, though good-spirited, romp tracing the coming-of-age of young men in the 1950s whose male bonding experiences take a back seat only to, well, female bonding experiences.

His most famous and arguably best-loved film, however, would be the holiday classic "A Christmas Story", the innocent, nostalgic tale of little Ralphie's 1940s Christmas in a small town by way of Jean Shepherd's memoirs. Beloved for its playful spirit and wry sense of humor, the sweet but never saccharine "A Christmas Story" famously runs for twenty-four hours every Christmas and has become a holiday tradition in many American households.

Taken together, "A Christmas Story" and "Porky's" may indicate that Clark's legacy will be that of a chronicler of growing up, from the child who wants a BB gun (never mind that it may shoot his eye out) to the young man who wants an eyeful of girls. The films look at the past through the lens of the present, and just as Jean Shepherd drew upon his own experiences to write what became "A Christmas Story", Clark looked back to his own growing-up period to create "Porky's", the result being a film that, like the best coming-of-age comedies, has as much heart as laughs.

Younger filmgoers may have encountered Clark's work through his television adaptations of "Maniac Magee", "The Ransom of Red Chief" or the Judy Blume yarn "Fudge-A-Mania".

At the time of Clark's death, Howard Stern was looking to remake "Porky's", and the director himself had numerous projects on his plate. As long as people are interested in remembering the past, they will remember Bob Clark's seminal films.

Source

LA Times, "Director of 'A Christmas Story', son killed in PCH crash", April 4, 2007.