Kevin Clark, who played the preteen Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones in the 2003 seminal film School Of Rock, died tragically early Wednesday morning when his bicycle was struck by a car in Chicago.
Clark was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
The driver, a 20-year-old woman, was given a citation, but will likely not face further charges.
Damn sad news today. Kevin Clark who played the drummer Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones in the all time classic School of Rock movie sadly passed. Rock in peace brother pic.twitter.com/LkGAKCSrws— Nate Wright (@Nate Wright) 1622065886
Rip Kevin Clark, #SchoolofRockpic.twitter.com/X05etZWPQD— Paulo Matheus \ud83c\udfac\ud83d\udcf8 (@Paulo Matheus \ud83c\udfac\ud83d\udcf8) 1622061496
Rest in peace, Kevin Clark. Alias, Drummer Freddy Jones in Richard Linklater's School of Rock (2003). He was apparently hit by a car while bicycling. He was 32 years old.pic.twitter.com/iJahspzACq— Jim Allder\ud83c\udfac (@Jim Allder\ud83c\udfac) 1622073840
Kevin Clark, who played Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones in School of Rock, has died in a road accident. He was 32.\nHe would leave the acting world behind to continue his love of drums to play in bands around his native Chicago.pic.twitter.com/uxg3992Blq— Eric Alper \ud83c\udfa7 (@Eric Alper \ud83c\udfa7) 1622067872
I think we can all agree that watching this scene as a kid changed a lot of our lives\n\nRIP KEVIN CLARK (Freddy)pic.twitter.com/qe3us5BcQn— GRINNS (@GRINNS) 1622080126
Clark continued working in music in his adult life, drumming for several bands.
He'd just debuted with the band Jessie Bess and the Intentions this past weekend in Chicago.
Actor Jack Black, the lead of the movie School Of Rock and lead singer of the band Tenacious D, penned a tribute to Clark onInstagram, with a side-by-side of the two in the film together and the two together again later in Clark's life.
Black and Clark reunited in 2018, when Clark gave Black a t-shirt of the band he was working with.
According to TMZ, Black immediately put on the t-shirt.
Jack Black was 33 when he filmed "School of Rock". The kids he filmed it with are now that age. This is so sad.https://twitter.com/getFANDOM/status/1397659467416629248\u00a0\u2026— Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1622069627
R.I.P. \nKevin Clark \n(1988 - 2021)pic.twitter.com/DfdCnzZtit— Alec Behan (@Alec Behan) 1622070100
NOOOOOOOOO RIP https://twitter.com/thatericalper/status/1397680078444707844\u00a0\u2026— Francis Barnaja (@Francis Barnaja) 1622129302
I\u2019m so sad, this is one of my favorite movieshttps://twitter.com/thatericalper/status/1397680078444707844\u00a0\u2026— honey. (@honey.) 1622091678
Oh no! Not Freddy Jones!https://twitter.com/ThatEricAlper/status/1397680078444707844\u00a0\u2026— Osgood Fielding. (@Osgood Fielding.) 1622082986
Actress Miranda Cosgrove, who also got her start in School Of Rock and went on to make a name for herself in such shows as Drake & Josh and iCarly, also penned a tribute to Clark on Instagram.
She wrote:
"Stunned and saddened by this news today."
"The world lost an amazing soul."
"I'll always remember your spirit and how kind you were to me."
"I'll never forget all the memories."
"You'll always be missed Kevin."
rip spazzy mcgee https://twitter.com/popcrave/status/1397717115382206474\u00a0\u2026— gabriella rose (@gabriella rose) 1622126514
I\u2019m heartbroken.. he was so young #RestInPeaceKevinClarkhttps://twitter.com/popcrave/status/1397717115382206474\u00a0\u2026— Meg (@Meg) 1622122412
I just showed this movie to my kids last week. So sad.https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1397717115382206474\u00a0\u2026— Michael Trismegistus (@Michael Trismegistus) 1622115754
Freddie Jones :((https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1397717115382206474\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd7b\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd9a\ud835\udd91\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd94 (@\ud835\udd7b\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd9a\ud835\udd91\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd94) 1622083110
Clark began his career in percussion by banging on pots and pans at 3 years old.
Allison Clark said of her late son:
"He just kind of shined."
"He took it on right away, but he never really acted afterward."
Our thoughts are with her and the rest of the Clark family in this very sad and difficult time.
