John Hughes Dies...

...and I am completely speechless and in total shock at the moment! A tribute will be forthcoming....definitely tomorrow.

I'll let the people who worked with him and were inspired by him do the talking for right now:

Molly Ringwald -
"I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes. He was and will always be such an important part of my life. He will be missed — by me and by everyone that he has touched. My heart and all my thoughts are with his family now."

Matthew Broderick -
“I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family.”

Jon Cryer -
“This is a horrible tragedy. He was an amazing man to work for and with. He respected young actors in a way that made you realize you had to step up your game because you were playing in the big leagues now. That’s why he got such great performances out of his actors. My heart goes out to his wife Nancy and their children.”

Ben Stein -
“It's incredibly sad. He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don't think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age."

Steve Martin -
“John Hughes was a great director, but his gift was in screenwriting. He created deep and complex characters, rich in humanity and humor. The script for 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' was the best script I had ever read. I asked John how long it took to write it, he said, 'I wrote it over the weekend.' The weekend. That shows you what he was able to do."

Kevin Smith -
"The flag's at half-mast in Shermer, Illinois. John Hughes, the man who spoke for geeks way before anyone else did."

Judd Apatow -
“I feel like a part of my childhood has died. Nobody made me laugh harder or more often than John Hughes.”

Rainn Wilson -
"R.I.P. John Hughes. 'The Breakfast Club' was a revelation to my late teen-age years. You're my hero."

And his obituary in these major newspapers and outlets: chicagotribune.com, latimes.com, CNN.com, nytimes.com.