Bob Clark, director of A Christmas Story, and Porky's

[BERIGAN]

His 22 year old son was killed as well....

'Christmas Story' director, son killed in L.A. crash

April 4, 2007

BY JEREMIAH MARQUEZ Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Film director Bob Clark, best known for the holiday classic "A Christmas Story," was killed with his son Wednesday in a head-on crash with a vehicle that a drunken driver steered into the wrong lane, police and the filmmaker's assistant said.

Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed in the accident in Pacific Palisades, said Lyne Leavy, Clark's personal assistant.

The two men were in an Infiniti that collided head-on with a GMC Yukon around 2:30 a.m. PDT, said Lt. Paul Vernon, a police spokesman. The driver of the other car was under the influence of alcohol and was driving without a license, Vernon said.

The driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, 24, of Los Angeles, remained hospitalized and will be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter after being treated, Vernon said. A female passenger in his car also was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and released, police said.

In Clark's most famous film, all 9-year-old Ralphie Parker wants for Christmas is an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle.

His mother, teacher and Santa Claus all warn: ''You'll shoot your eye out, kid.''

A school bully named Scut Farkus, a leg lamp, a freezing flagpole mishap and some four-letter defiance helped the movie become a seasonal fixture with ''It's A Wonderful Life'' and ''Miracle on 34th Street.''

Scott Schwartz, who played Flick in ''A Christmas Story'' and kept in touch with Clark, called Clark one of the ''nicest, sweetest guys that you'd ever want to come in contact with.''

''It's a tragic day for all of us who knew and loved Bob Clark,'' Schwartz said. ''Bob was a fun-loving, jelly-roll kind of guy who will be sorely missed.''

The director of The Christmas Story House in Cleveland, which was used for several exterior shots in the film, said Clark had been planning to visit in August.

''We were all very excited about meeting him,'' said executive director Steve Siedlecki. ''It's very sad to think that that will never happen.''

The house started a condolence book for Clark's family that fans who visit the house can sign, he said. Renovated to look like Ralphie's movie home, the house opened in November and has welcomed about 30,000 visitors.

Clark specialized in horror movies and thrillers early in his career, directing such 1970s flicks as ''Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things,'' ''Murder by Decree,'' ''Breaking Point'' and ''Black Christmas,'' which was remade last year.

His breakout success came with 1981's sex farce ''Porky's,'' a coming-of-age romp that he followed two years later with ''Porky's II: The Next Day.''

In 1983, ''A Christmas Story'' marked a career high for Clark. Darrin McGavin, Melinda Dillon and Peter Billingsley starred in the adaptation of Jean Shepard's childhood memoir of a boy in the 1940s.

The film was a modest theatrical success, but critics loved it.

In 1994, Clark directed a forgettable sequel, ''It Runs in the Family,'' featuring Charles Grodin, Mary Steenburgen and Kieran Culkin in a continuation of Shepard's memoirs.

In recent years, Clark made family comedies that were savaged by critics, including ''Karate Dog,'' ''Baby Geniuses'' and its sequel, ''Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.''

Among Clark's other movies were Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton's ''Rhinestone,'' Timothy Hutton's ''Turk 182!'', and Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd's ''Loose Cannons.''

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/328294...k040407.article

[BruceH]

Sad.

[Jim Alfredson]

Very sad. Shitty way to go.

[Noj]

That's horrible. Porky's was a big part of my elementary school days, used to watch it with friends all the time. RIP.

[sal]

Porky's was a big part of my elementary school days

As funny as this statement sounds, it holds true for me too. RIP.

[RDK]

Never cared for Porkys, but A Christmas Story is a stone classic. Was very sad to hear about this last night.

[Shawn]

This is depressing. Not a fate that anyone deserves.

I think I saw "Black Christmas" on TV before Porky's came out. I saw Porky's in the theater (back when an 11 year old could sneak into an r-rated feature) and it was quite the life-changing event at that age! It still cracks me up.

[Hot Ptah]

Many people focus on the nudity in Porkys, but that only obscures the superb script, brilliant acting, and undefinable element of artistic quality which elevate it into the stratosphere of all time cinematic achievements.

[DTMX]

Many people focus on the nudity in Porkys, but that only obscures the superb script, brilliant acting, and undefinable element of artistic quality which elevate it into the stratosphere of all time cinematic achievements.

Especially that scene where the gym teacher was trying to pull the guy's tallywhacker through the pipe.

Everyone in my high school could be counted on for two things: owning a worn out cassette of AC/DC's Back in Black, and having seen Porky's more than once.

Porky's was our Citizen Kane.

Edited April 5, 2007 by DTMX

[RDK]

Porky's was our Citizen Kane.

I'm almost afraid to ask about "Rosebud."

[Dan Gould]

Porky's was our Citizen Kane.

I'm almost afraid to ask about "Rosebud."

[sidewinder]

Especially that scene where the gym teacher was trying to pull the guy's tallywhacker through the pipe.

Just cracking up - had forgotten that one !