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MOVIESNational Lampoon Remembers John Hughes
Former National Lampoon writer and editor John Hughes has passed away at 59. He was best known for his prolific 80’s comedies like “Sixteen Candles”, “Weird Science” “Breakfast Club”, “Home Alone” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” just to name a few. Hughes films dominated the box office with his thoughtfully quirky characters and observational humor that changed comedy writing indefinitely.
John Hughes began his career as an advertising copywriter in Chicago then quickly moved on to writing for National Lampoon during the 1970s and by 1979 became the editor of the magazine.
According to the Internet Movie Database, his first screenwriting credit was for the “Animal House” TV spin-off, “Delta House.”
“National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983),” was based on a short story he had written for the magazine called “Vacation ‘58″ which was based on a fictionalized childhood remembrance of a road trip to Disneyland gone horribly wrong.
We at National lampoon owe a great deal to John Hughes’ influence on the magazine and comedy in general. Hughes will continue to inspire and entertain future generations through his timeless perception of teenage and family life.
We are going to be going through our archives and reposting some of his most famous work published in the National Lampoon, so keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks.
RIP John. I still have the issue in which Vacation ‘58 was in, and also the 1983 issue it reappeared in.
VACATION ‘58… WHAT A CLASSIC! SHAME ABOUT THE FILM… AND ALL HIS OTHER DREADFUL CINEMATIC FORAYS. RIP, DUDE.
Dang. Some great writing — and the Hughes Engagement Guide gave me a lot of useful tips. Been married 24 years now. Thanks for the help John.
Didn’t John have a big hand in the Kids issue back in the late ’70s? That was a standout issue, as well as OC & Stiggs in the early ’80s.
I own all three Vacation movies, Mr. Mom (He wrote it), The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science…..
Sadly, that’ s all I own, but I have seen most of his movies, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes,Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Home Alone 1, 2 & 3
He was a great director,producer and writer, he shall be missed
PLEASE republish an unforgettable story Hughes wrote of a prom night. 40 years on, I cant shake the final scene where the girl is being whipped by her date with a car antenna on the front lawn. Did he really write this and was your mag really that edgy? It was because Nat Lamp had the balls to print that brillant teenage rage.
The prom night story was written by Doug Kenny, not Hughes.
Actually the story with the prom date gone horribly wrong was Doug Kenney’s “First Blowjob.” Hughes had nothing to do with that one, although it’s understandable to think that he did, but I think that one also pre-dated his Lampoon work by several years.
I was sure I saw a NL photo funnies layout of him and a little boy (possibly his son) in an old issue of NL that I picked up a few years ago at a used book store. The father and son were in the bathroom discussing the contents of their medicine cabinet. The little boy basically said how disgusting all the various products were for adult ailments (dandruff, hemmoroids, body odour, halitosis, etc.) and how he never wanted to grow up because of this. Am I dreaming, or was it some other person and some other magazine? Anyway, it was hilarious and timeless.
I remember reading John Hughes’s “editorial” on the Kids issue of National Lampoon. I was probably 14 years old when I purchased it and devoured the issue. I recall how funny his writing was (including being afraid of having sex with his pregnant wife for fear of causing brain damage to his unborn child). Later, aspects of movies like “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club” hit home for me as a kid in his late teens. “Trains, Plains and Automobiles” and “Candles” are still among my favorites.
I remember reading NL in the 70s at 14, pretty crazy stuff. Not sure if I read Vacation 58 or not, but I do remember reading about Pinto’s First Lay, My Penis, My Vagina and more. I never realized John was the writer. Incredible stuff that all segued into the Yearbook parody, the Sunday Newspaper and then Animal House and much more. His movies were too mainstream for me and to devoted to upper middle class North Shore Chicago but I loved his writing, I can’t wait to see some of it reposted. Sleep well Pinto.
The My Penis and My Vagina articles by John Hughes were the funniest things I had read at 12, followed quickly by the Vacation article. I’m not sure how many people appreciated the edgy writing John did for Nat Lamp (or how many people appreciated Nat Lamp at all).
At the time, the articles helped me make fun of my teenage confusion. The movies were a much more soft-focus version of the same idea.
Dick?
That’s a really dicky thing to say about his films. How dare you. RIP John. You’ll be dearly misssed.
If I am not mistaken, there was a feature called “Uncle John’s Couchtime Stories.”
I remember reading a lot of really funny stuff. But looking back, I am not sure if all I remember was John’s. I do remember that Weird Science first appeared in a much shorter form in the Lampoon, and it was hysterical.
Did John write the one about having sex with the maid and he came so hard he shot her through the ceiling?
Anybody else remember this stuff?
It is nice to see John remebered for the hilarious stories that he wrote in The National Lampoon. So many of the scenes and story lines in his movies came from those articles. Thanks to Keith for bringing up “Uncle John’s Couchtime Stories” My favorite one was called “Three cheers for Dan” You guys should really post some of this classic humour from the seventies. “Vacation 58″ and I believe “Christmas 58″ are must reading. Rest in peace John. My condolences to your family. Now your making angels cry with laughter. Goodbye and thank you.
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Pinto’s First Lay and My Vagina are not the stuff great literature is made of. (I never knew they were John Hughes, same same for all those great movies until I saw his obit. ) I read those stories once, when I was a High School student reading NL 35+ years ago. I didn’t save or re-read any issues. Yet thirty years later the minute details and graphic images of those outrageous, edgy fantasies are still indelibly burned in my brain. That’s the mark of great writing. RIP Mr. Hughes. (He had a period in school swimming pool…he finds himself unable to resist singing along softly with the Bee-Gees…and when his great friends discover his predicament they all …him…disgusting!…shocking!…undeniably true and funny…)
The comedy of John Hughes has touched a lot of people, and it’s completely timeless. Just last week a hairstylist and I were trading quips from “Trains, Planes and Automobiles” (”Those aren’t PILLOWS!!”) and “Weird Science.” What was so cool about it was that she was clearly a lot younger than I, yet the jokes still resonated with her. That’s the sign of a genuinely great filmmaker, not to mention writer!
He was a dick and never the editor.