RIP Bob Clark (1941-2007)

One of my favorite film directors has died.

Bob Clark, the man who helmed the best holiday movie of all time, 1983's A Christmas Story died in a car crash with his son on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, early Wednesday morning; he was 67. According to police reports, Clark's car was hit head-on around 2:30 am by an SUV that swerved into Clark's southbound lane; Clark and his 22 year-old son, Ariel, were pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV driver, who was driving without a license, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and is to be booked for gross vehicular manslaughter.

I can't believe it... So very sad. Clark's career spanned many genres. He made the grandaddy of all slasher films 1974's Black Christmas, which influenced all others to follow--like Halloween and Friday the 13th and so on...In 1979 he tried his hand at doing a mystery with Murder by Decree. He achieved surprise success with the teen sex romp Porky's (1982) and its sequel Porky's II: The Next Day (1983). Those movies helped define the very genre and the decade...The off beat drama Turk 182!, starring Timothy Hutton is notable for the football stadium sequence if nothing else.

Clark Celebrates The 2 Disc DVD Release Of ACS In 2003

He also directed a segment of the anthology TV series "Amazing Stories" called Remote Control Man...1999's Baby Geniuses and its 2004 follow-up SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2.

Mr Clark had several projects in the pipeline...It's a tragedy that he died before any of them could be finished...

A Christmas Story is, and every shall be his best work and for that alone, he leaves behind quite a legacy.

Read the AP story for more...