Kevin Clark, the child actor and musician who played lovable loudmouth drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in School Of Rock, has died at 32 years old. Block Club Chicago reports Clark was killed while riding his bike, when a 20-year-old woman driving a Hyundai Sonata struck him around 1:20 a.m. He died at Illinois Masonic Hospital. The accident happened near the intersection of Logan Boulevard, Western Avenue, and the Kennedy Expressway, which is known for being one of the most dangerous in Chicago.
School Of Rock was Clark’s only screen credit. After appearing in the hit film, he focused on his music career, playing in multiple bands, including Dreadwolf and a recent stint in Jess Bess And The Intentions. “He’s just got raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold,” his mom Allison Clark told ABC 7 Chicago.
Clark crossed paths with his School Of Rock co-star Jack Black in 2018, where they performed an impromptu reunion set during a Tenacious D show in Chicago. In a picture obtained by TMZ from the reunion, Black is shown donning a Dreadwolf T-shirt Clark gifted him.
58 Comments
Oh no! I just watched School of Rock with my son a few days ago. Kevin was great! He definitely could have pursued acting if he’d wanted to.Side note: how can School of Rock be 18 years old??
“how can School of Rock be 18 years old??”It came out in 2003.
That means that you could legally fuck School Of Rock.Not that you would.
School of Rock is awesome.
It’s the best Jack Black movie. It’s also the one where he’s the least “Jack Black”. He’s up front and over the top when he needs to be and he steps back when it’s time for the kids to shine (and not just on stage, the whole movie).
One of Linklater’s best, too.
Yeah, it’s a movie that could have so easily veered into “look at our wacky star!!!” (and I love Jack Black, don’t get me wrong), but it/he very wisely kept the heart of the story and the focus clear.
It can’t be that old, I saw it on my birthday when I turned…ahhhh, shit.
Same, about a week past.
I watched the DVD interviews with perfect-hindsight interest, and was convinced Kevin Clark would be sharing a cell with Edward Furlong by now. Kevin seemed like he was hiding behind polite while his appearance cheque cleared, but it’s obvious now that Joey’s lead guitar attitude, aspirations, and expectations would beat Kevin to lockup. With informed hindsight, it appears Kevin Clark was real promise with a musical family and a young performing history. What I interpreted as holding back was probably just a smirk of disdain for film industry reporters.
It’s refreshing that the SoR kids, mostly, didn’t really leave a trail headlines and just went about their efforts.
I know this is going to sound HORRIBLE … but after reading the headline, was anyone else relieved that his death wasn’t a result of drug abuse or suicide?I say this because life is hard for these kids and A LOT of child actors who don’t continue on that path. The fact that the kid who played one of Will Farrell’s sons in Talladega Nights recently killed himself is one example.
One acting role hardly makes you a child actor and the only reason this is even an article is that he died young (same as Houston).Imagine if every person with an IMDB credit received their own AV club obituary.
Did you mean that as a bad thing or a good thing? It sounded like a good thing.
I have no idea how or why but the School of Rock kids seem to have avoided a lot of pitfalls of child stardom.
Most, yeah.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/school-rock-actor-charged-stealing-guitars-n980041
*looks up Joey’s age*Some between-the-lines stuff there about a 28yr old snapping and deciding to screw with the man; he may have realized he was only getting older and poorer following his first love, but a stolen sweater is way better than joining the 27 club. Regretting the best thing he ever accomplished would be harsh. Would be interested to know if he sold the loot, supporting ego fulfillment, or hoarded them like a psychotic break. Would be the absolute worst to learn it was only meth money.
I’ve met a couple of individuals who survived that breakwater, finally realizing they needed a Ned job so they could push bar gigs to the hobby pile in comfort, Dewey’s dilemma of art imitating life imitating art. Enjoying music while they turn grey, but managing to distance themselves from industry “pinheads” who still think fame and fortune awaits.
It’s probably because they weren’t actors. Seriously.
You’re not wrong. The only one who had much of an acting career was the iCarly girl, and I don’t think things went entirely great for her.
I had a similar thought. It would be shitty one way or another, but it’s a relief to know that he didn’t get swallowed up by the miserable machine that, like you mention, does a number on child stars
That’s awful! Rest in peace, Kevin.
RIP
That’s an awesome photo.
This is fucking depressing. He’s was only three years older than I was.Also, what in the actual fuck Kinja? This is where the comments section should be.
Damn that sucks. Loved School of Rock.
Rest in peace.
NOOOOOOO!
Poor guy. This is why you should never go riding in the middle of the night, not unless you’re lit up like a Christmas tree.
I REALLY wish people would realize that where I live. Maine is chock full of extremely hilly roads sided by death gullies, yet they’ll still walk or bike with nothing but a low-watt flashlight or no light source at all! One road in particular houses a distribution center, and plenty of people fly there to start their night shifts. The time of night is regardless, people need to light up!
I read both of the linked articles, but I didn’t see anything about the amount of lighting he was carrying. Did I miss it?Why not advise the driver not to go driving in the middle of the night? It sounds like he was doing fine on his bike until she hit him.
Or maybe drivers should pay attention when they’re driving.
It’s not an either/or scenario.
Just to be clear, he was killed while riding his bicycle, not a motorcycle.
Holy hell, I can see why so many people get hit at that intersection. There are barely any lines demarcating traffic flow under that train overpass, the openness leads to confusion for turning cars, and pedestrian blind spots when you come off any curb to cross. Hopefully now, the city will begin planning to fix it.
This intersetion already has a permanent memorial White Bike there for other victims. It’s very dangerous.
I hate to sound like Captain Hindsight, but it sounds like they should do something other than put up a memorial.
lol…as though cities give a shit about non-vehicular traffic.
I might be reading your comment wrong… So maybe apologies in advance… But it seems like when you say “they” you’re thinking the city put up a memorial.White bikes or “ghost bikes” aren’t formal memorials. When someone dies in a bike accident, friends and family will get an old bike, spray paint the entire thing white, and place it at the site of the accident. They’re also often covered messages, flowers, etc.But they’re not like formal sites or anything. They’re usually just chained to a pole, and the city doesn’t bother removing them.
As a cyclist, I always get a pit in my stomach when I see one of those.
It’s a shitshow for sure. Not only are there no lanes demarcated, but on the West side of the intersection there’s no curb and the lanes have got to be extra narrow – it always feels like everyone is going to sideswipe each other as they pass under the bridge. On the East side it’s a free for all as everyone tries to change lanes, though maybe not at 1AM. I rode my bike through it on the pavement exactly once and it was harrowing, from that point on just hopped onto the sidewalk, as I see most cyclists do. It’s a damn shame. Rest In Peace.
Edit: well the driver was driving South on Western while he went West on Logan which is arguably the *least* problematic the traffic pattern at that intersection. He would have had to already have crossed the entire Northbound side of Western (3-4 lanes) in her view before she hit him, and this is basically an underpass so the lighting is strong, so she really fucked up, even if, in the worst case, he ran the light or had no lights on his bike (which we have no evidence of, to be clear). This sucks. Pay attention to the road folks.
That’s a typical intersection in the greater Atlanta area where there’s an overpass.Peachtree Industrial Blvd comes to mind.
Wow, this is really similar to the intersection of 880 and Gilman Street in Berkeley. The intersection comprises — I shit you not — an interstate on ramp and off ramp, one of the busiest streets in Berkeley, a two-lane surface roads that runs parallel to the interstate, the entrance to a horse track, a multi-field sports complex, a bike path, and three crosswalks. Sound like a complete cluster? Oh yeah, it also has NO TRAFFIC SIGNALS. This entire thing has two stop signs to reign in the chaos. (Hint: It doesn’t.) I think the pile of broken glass and car parts in the center is at least calf deep.
The only thing worse than getting off at Gilman is staying on the 580. That’s the only stretch of interstate where I’ve caught myself saying “it’s not too congested for 9 pm on a Sunday.”
Don’t forget the train tracks 1/2 a block away.
Man, that intersection looks like a nightmare.
Pretty sure the last time I went along that route was 20 years ago, and it was a cluster then as well. There may be a reason I hate driving in NYC, especially L.I.
And, its half dark so your visibility is suspect.it’s so bad.
This is what the proposed infrastructure bill is for. To prevent areas like these. It’s about keeping citizens safe, not one upping one part or the other.
I have no other words than that this just fucking sucks.I’m going to go out on a limb and say that 20-year-old girl is probably going to remember she killed someone every time she looks at her phone to send some stupid text message.
A twenty year old is an adult woman and no where does it say she was texting. It was one am on a notoriously dangerous intersection that had already claimed lives before.
I did say, “go out on a limb” so you’re right, no where does it say she was texting but 1) How busy is that intersection at 1:20am? and 2) A responsible adult would be extra cautious at a notoriously dangerous intersection, especially at that hour due to the low visibility at night. So if she wasn’t intoxicated, which being underage, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, it’s a good bet she was texting.
I mean from photos it looks pretty confusing as an intersection and who knows how well lit everything was. For that matter, we don’t know if he was wearing a helmet. Or she could have been texting- we don’t have enough information
That inspection in Chicago is terrible. I had a co-worker who, coming off the freeway there, would absolutely JAM through the intersection to immediately get to the far left lane and get through the left turn before the light turned so that he didn’t have to stop. I yelled at him that that was incredibly shitty and dangerous and pointed out the ghost bike chained up there. He replied, “Oh, I’m pretty sure they just put those up places.” I screamed back, “No, asshole, it’s there because someone specific died! It has his name on it!” I refused to get in that guy’s car anymore.
Not that we definitely know for sure yet, but in fairness to the driver: A local report indicates he ran a red light. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-bicycle-rider-killed-avondale-20210526-giwwinwf2nbm5j3jfzrm4jir5i-story.html
Knowing the person I killed ran a red would definitely make me feel better.
Fuck. Freddie dying is so fucking upsetting.Fuck.
This is so sad. School of Rock is so good – one of those rare perfect-for-kids-and-parents-too movies, that doesn’t pander, talk down, or insert inappropriate “grownup” humor (looking at most of Dreamworks’ output…)Kevin Clark was one of the best of a fine cast. So glad he kept working in music. RIP.
But it does have very funny “inappropriate grownup” humour:
But it does have very funny “inappropriate grownup” humour Oh, sure but it’s not that odd, disconnected stuff like the Godfather-based bits in, say, Shark Tale. Or… a ton of stuff from the Shrek movies. School of Rock’s humor is organic and real. Ish.
He took a bicycle to a car fight.That’s… not the Chicago way.
This is really sad. I guess there is some small solace in that it wasn’t a sordid former child star style death, but not much.