Seantn

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Film director Robert Clark and his son Ariel were killed in an early morning collision along a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, authorities said.

Clark directed the classic holiday film "A Christmas Story" in 1983 and was also the producer of the "Porkys" films, along with about two dozen other features.

The crash, which occurred about 2:30 a.m., left the highway closed between Temescal Canyon Road and West Sunset Boulevard until 10:40 a.m., while police investigated at the scene, said Kevin Maiberger, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said Clark, 67, and his son, who was 22, were found dead at the scene in the silver Infiniti.

The driver and passenger of the other vehicle, a GMC Yukon, were taken to the UCLA Medical Center with "serious" injuries, Maiberger said. Both of them are thought to be in their 20s. The male driver is expected to be charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Maiberger said.

Maiberger added that speed was another factor in the crash, but he said the investigation has not determined to what extent. "I'm not sure if that means one car, or both cars were speeding," he said.

The Antipodean

Wow, that sucks. I hate Porky's but Christmas Story is definitely one of the greats.

DodgingCars

The weird thing is, I heard about PCH being closed this morning due to a fatal accident.

EdTheRipper

Wow, that's too bad.

Numanoid

Man, that sucks, but someone had to pay for Baby Geniuses.


Too soon?



(But seriously, that's a shitty fate)

The Bus

Geofferson

Rip

Jaymole

Probably the most schizophrenic director ever.

RIP

lotsofdvds

Of course the criminal fucker who killed him survived.

Keith6601

Does this mean we get a 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story without having to wait until christmas this year?

Mikey

That's so sad to hear. What a horrible thing for his family! I will always cherish a Christmas Story and cringe at how scary Black Christmas is/was.

TomOpus

No kidding. Not only quality-wise but genre-wise.

I enjoyed many of his movies and this is pretty sad.

Eplicon

The driver also was also driving without a license on top of being under the influence. The passenger in his car should also be charged as an accomplice as far as I'm concerned for letting him drive in the first place and probably knowing he was driving illegally. She could have prevented the tragedy.

I never understood the popularity of A Christmas Story. Saw it only once, and never saw it again. Never could relate to it.

DarthVong

Creepy. I just finished watching the Black Christmas remake making of with him in it.

Simpson Purist

A sad loss, I love A Christmas Story.

Even worse is the way he died.

matome

Same here

TheNightFlier

I hate when the drunk drivers are the ones who escape with "minor" injuries.

Turk 182! has always been one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies. RIP.

mike45

I've never got the gross vehicular manslaughter for the responsible DUI driver. Driving while intoxicated is pretty premeditated.

Murder two, at the least.

NatrlBornThrllr

Intent.

Rockmjd23

I'll always remember him for his groundbreaking horror films. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, Dead of Night, and Black Christmas, the original slasher film.

RIP

OwlAtHome

Very sad news.

calhoun07

I have read the reason that happens so often is because the drunk driver is more often than not just unaware of the pending accident and they are often completely relaxed. The sober driver tenses up and becomes stiff, so at the point of impact they are often wounded more, or more prone to get killed, where as the drunk just goes with the impact and gets minor injuries.

Mosskeeto

The fatalities occurred in a car while the survivors were in a SUV. Typical statistics in this type of accident.

Giantrobo

Yep same here.

Matthew Chmiel

This came to a little bit of a shock for me as I was just watching the special features on the Black Christmas remake DVD last night and Mr. Clark was very prominent in the featurettes.

RIP good sir. You made two of the very greatest genre films of all time (Black Christmas and Porky's).