The world has lost a legend today, film director John Hughes.
I know it’s silly, I didn’t know the guy, but I felt like I did.
He truly touched my life…in so many different ways.

John Hughes was born in Lansing, Michigan (ironically, where I went to College!!!) and his family moved to Illinois right before he entered high school.
He was a 1968 graduate of Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois.
I graduated from GBN in 1994…a bit later.
However, Hughes used Northbrook and the entire North Shore area for shooting his film locations. He normally left the name of the town unsaid, or referred to it as “Shermer, Illinois.”
The original name for Northbrook was Shermerville. It was changed a long time ago…however, the main road that runs through the town, and the one the high school sits on, is still called, Shermer Road.
Rumor has it, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Breakfast Club” was based on John Hughes’s personal high school experience. Apparently he hated it so much, he felt he had to make many movies about it.
Rumor also has it that the Mr. Rooney, the principal in “Ferris Bueller’s” was based on our own dean…which I can believe.
Anyway, I was in Jr. High when they filmed that movie.
Our Jr. High was directly located next to the high school.
I vivedly remember the filming of two scenes in the movie.
1) The scene in which Ferris comes to the school to pick up his girlfriend. Mr. Rooney walks them out, Ferris has Cameron’s dad’s car, and is all dressed up..and then
2) They drive away from the school, top down on the car…to the music of “Yello- Oh Yeah”. That street is called School Street…it’s a windy road between the two schools and is…or used to be…a big speed trap by the Northbrook Police…

The other great thing about this movie….the watertown in town was painted with “SAVE FERRIS” and stayed that way for months…we had no idea why at the time.

Many of my friends homes were used in the movie. Most of them in the scene where Ferris ran through the homes trying to beat his father home.

Of course, there are other great movies that all have a tie-into where I’m from…but Ferris Bueller is by far, is the one closest to my heart. We even took our wedding pictures in the same place where Ferris took Cameron to try to wake him up out of his coma….yes…I’m a dork 🙂