The Tragic Death Of School Of Rock's Drummer Kevin Clark
Kevin Clark, who played the young drummer Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones in "School of Rock," has died after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle, TMZ reports. He was 32 years old.
He was hit by a Hyundai Sonata around 1:20 am on May 26, per the Chicago Sun-Times. The driver of the car was a 20-year-old woman, who was issued a citation by the police, but has not been arrested. Paramedics transported him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just after 2 a.m., per the website.
Clark lived in Chicago and was a drummer in several bands. Jessie Bess and the Intentions, his most recent band, had just played its first live show on Saturday night, May 22.
According to the outlet, Clark grew up in Highland Park, Illinois and started playing the drums when he was 3 by using pots and pans as a drum kit. When he was 12, he was cast in "School of Rock" as the outspoken kid drummer. He landed the role by attending his friend's audition, and later revealed to TMZ that he only got the part because he could play the drums. After "School of Rock" came out, Kevin Clark left the movie business but kept playing the drums in various groups.
While the 2003 film was his sole acting credit, he reunited with his fictional teacher, Jack Black, a few years ago. Black has also paid tribute to Clark in the wake of his death.
Jack Black calls his 'School of Rock' co-star Kevin Clark 'a beautiful soul'
On May 26, Jack Black took to Instagram to share his devastation at his young co-star's death. Devastating news. Kevin is gone. Way too soon," Black shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the two in the film and a photo of the two more recently. "Beautiful soul. So many great memories. Heartbroken. Sending love to his family and the whole School of Rock community."
In 2018, Jack Black and Kevin Clark reunited at a Tenacious D show in Chicago, per People. He got to hang out backstage with Black and his bandmate Kyle Glass after the show. He gave Black a T-shirt featuring his band Dreadwolf's logo, which Black immediately put on, the site reported. Clark later posted a photo of Black wearing the band's shirt on Dreadwolf's Instagram. He captioned it "Kinda a must here, but it's not every day you get to see Jack Black wearing your T-shirt." (The photo has since been deleted.)
Clark is survived by his mother Allison Clark and his siblings Cary and Nicole, according to Radar Online.