Director Bob Clark 1941-2007

Sad news.

The Associated Press -- LOS ANGELES -- Film director Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Story," and his son were killed (Jeff says, 'murdered') Wednesday in a car wreck, the filmmaker's assistant and police said. Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed ('murdered') in the accident in Pacific Palisades. The two men were in an Infiniti that collided head-on with a GMC Yukon around 2:30 a.m. PST, 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, an illegal alien from Mexican who was living in Los Angeles, will be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter after being treated, Vernon said. The motherfucker was 3x over the legal limit. A female passenger in his car also was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.

Director Bob Clark helmed the modern holiday classic A Christmas Story and was the writer-director-producer of the film, Porky's, which became the highest-grossing film of 1982 and one of the highest-grossing films ever in Canada. The director of the 1974 cult horror film Black Christmas as well as the 1980 Jack Lemmon drama Tribute (which nabbed Lemmon a Best Actor Oscar nomination). The 1983 film that would become his most memorable was based on humorist Jean Shepherd's short story collection In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, A Christmas Story - which Clark directed, co-wrote and produced) was the nostalgic and humorous tale of a young boy named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) growing up in the 1940s who yearned for the ultimate Christmas gift, a Red Ryder BB gun. It was a modest success in its initial box office run but gained a strong and steady following through the next two decades, becoming a TV staple during the holiday season and a consistent seller on DVD. Clark's other films included Rhinestone, Turk 182!, From the Hip, and the two Baby Geniuses movies. -- Mark Englehart, IMDb staff


Here's a recent photo - Warner Brothers held a special cast reunion screening of A Christmas Story at the Pacific Arclight theater in L.A. Left to right, here's R.D. Robb (Schwartz), Ian Petrella (Randy Parker), Peter Billingsley (Ralphie), Bob Clark (director/co-producer/co-writer), Scott Schwartz (Flick) and Zack Ward (Scut Farkus).

This hits home as A Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies (it's a family favorite of the Ircink's). I heard about this accident while driving to work this morning as drivers were being warned that some lanes were still closed on the PCH. Funny how the drunk driver/murderer always seems to live. I hope the little bastard rots in hell.