Iconic writer-director John Hughes, who defined Hollywood's youth culture of the 1980s and '90s with classics like "Home Alone," "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," died Thursday. He was 59.

Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan. He was in New York visiting family.

A native of Lansing, Mich., who later moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose through the writing ranks thanks to his lovable and idealized portrayal of teenage life.

His films also made careers for the likes of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers who took part in the ensemble comedies.

And then there was the massively popular "Home Alone," which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a huge star as the eight-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Pretty in Pink," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and "Uncle Buck."

Other actors who got their early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack, Judd Nelson, Steve Carrell and Lili Taylor.

As Hughes advanced into middle age his commercial touch faded and he increasingly withdrew from public life. His last directorial credit came in 1991 for "Curly Sue" and he wrote only a handful of scripts, rarely granting interview or photographs.

Photo Credit: Filmmaker John Hughes attends the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for NHLI

John Hughes Filmography