After dropping out of the
University of Arizona, Hughes began selling jokes to well-established performers such as
Rodney Dangerfield and
Joan Rivers. He used his jokes to get an entry-level job at
Needham, Harper & Steers as an advertising
copywriter in Chicago in 1970, and later at
Leo Burnett Worldwide in 1974. During this period, he created what became the famous Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" ad campaign. Hughes' work on the
Virginia Slims account frequently took him to the
Philip Morris headquarters in
New York City, which allowed him to visit the offices of
National Lampoon magazine. Editor
P. J. O'Rourke recalled that he "wrote so fast and so well that it was hard for a monthly magazine to keep up with him". One of Hughes' first stories, inspired by his family trips as a child, This later became the basis for the film ''
National Lampoon's Vacation''. Hughes' directorial debut,
Sixteen Candles (1984), won almost unanimous praise; this was due partly to its more honest depiction of navigating adolescence and the social dynamics of high school life, in stark contrast to the ''
Porky's-inspired comedies made of the time. It was his first in a string of popular films about teenage life set in or around high school, including The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), all of which he wrote and directed, and Pretty in Pink (1986) and Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), which he wrote and produced. To avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of only teen movies, Hughes branched out by writing, directing, and producing the hit comedy
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) starring
Steve Martin and
John Candy. His later output was not so well received critically, with films like
Dutch (1991) performing poorly at the box office. Films like
Uncle Buck and ''
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, however, proved massively popular. His final film as a director was Curly Sue'' (1991). By that time, his production company John Hughes Entertainment had signed various deals with
20th Century Fox and
Warner Bros. Candy had many memorable roles in films written, directed, and/or produced by Hughes, including ''National Lampoon's Vacation
(1983), Planes, Trains and Automobiles
(1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck
(1989), Home Alone
(1990), Career Opportunities (1991), and Only the Lonely'' (1991). Over the years, the two developed a close friendship. Hughes was greatly shaken by Candy's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994, with Hughes' friend
Vince Vaughn later saying that he believed "if Candy had lived longer [then] John would have made more films as a director".
Home Alone was the top-grossing film of 1990, and remains the most successful live-action family comedy of all time. He also wrote and produced the sequels
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and
Home Alone 3 (1997). Some of the subsequent films he wrote and produced during this time also contained elements of the
Home Alone formula, including the successful
Dennis the Menace (1993) and the box office flop ''
Baby's Day Out (1994). He also wrote screenplays under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes (sometimes spelled Dantès) after the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo, including Maid in Manhattan, Drillbit Taylor, and Beethoven. Hughes worked in Chicago while Mestres remained in Los Angeles. The company produced the films Jack, 101 Dalmatians, and Flubber, but Hughes and Mestres ended their collaboration in 1997. Reach the Rock'', which they produced, was subsequently credited as "a
Gramercy Pictures release of a John Hughes and Ricardo Mestres production". Hughes remained out of the public eye in his later years, except for recording an
audio commentary for the 1999 DVD release of ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off
and giving a few interviews that same year to promote the Reach the Rock'' soundtrack. The album was compiled by Hughes' son, John Hughes III, who released it on his own record label
Hefty Records.
Unproduced screenplays • ''National Lampoon's Jaws 3: People 0'' – a parody sequel to the
popular film series (1979) •
Motorheads vs. Sportos, also known as
Just Like Romeo and Juliet or
Suburban Westside Story •
The History of Ohio from the Beginning of Time to the End of the Universe, also known as ''National Lampoon's Dacron, Ohio'' (1980; with P. J. O'Rourke) •
The Joy of Sex: A Dirty Love Story (1982; some drafts with
Dan Greenburg) •
Debs – a satire on Texas debutantes (1983;
Aaron Spelling Productions) •
The New Kid (1987) •
Bartholomew Vs. Neff – a vehicle that would have starred
Sylvester Stallone and John Candy as feuding neighbors (1991) •
Black Cat Bone: The Return of Huckleberry Finn (1991) •
The Nanny (1991) •
The Bugster (1994) •
Tickets – about teens who wait overnight for free tickets to a farewell concert (1996) •
The Grigsbys Go Broke – about a wealthy family who loses their fortune, forcing them to move to the other side of the tracks (2003) == Personal life ==