Kevin Clark, the actor and musician best known for his role as outspoken drummer Freddy Jones in School of Rock, has died at the age of 32.
Clark was hit by a car while riding his bike along North Western Avenue, Chicago in the early hours of Wednesday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center but was pronounced dead shortly after 2am.
The newspaper described the intersection as “notoriously dangerous”. Police said the 20-year-old driver of the vehicle was not arrested, but issued citations.
Clark grew up in the Highland Park area of Illinois, where he learned to play the drums as a five-year-old. “He loved music,” said Allison Clark of her son, who could also play violin, guitar and piano. “He’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold.”
At 12, Clark landed a role in Richard Linklater’s wildly popular 2003 comedy School of Rock, about a wannabe rock star turned illicit supply teacher who starts a band with his students. Starring opposite Jack Black, Clark plays the band’s mouthy drummer, Freddy ‘Spazzy McGee’ Jones.
The movie was Clark’s only acting credit but he continued his love of music into adulthood, forming several bands, writing songs and teaching children at a School of Rock location in Libertyville. The Sun-Times reported that he had performed live for the first time last weekend with his new band, Jess Bess and the Intentions.
Allison Clark said: “He told his bandmates just yesterday: ‘You know, this is finally the life I want to live. And we’re going to make it. You’re my musical family — my family — and we’re all going to make it’.”
Several of Clark’s School of Rock co-stars have taken to social media to pay tribute to Clark. Black posted on Instagram, writing that the news was “devastating” and that he was “heartbroken”. Rivkah Reyes, who starred as Katie, the band’s bassist, wrote on Twitter that they’d “never forget your hugs and your laugh and the sheer joy on your face when we’d run into each other in Chicago,” before going on to thank him “for always showing up for me with that ‘big brother I never had’ energy.”
Miranda Cosgrove, who played the band’s manager, wrote that she was “stunned and saddened by this news.”
“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.”
Allison Clark also said she has received numerous calls from his musician friends. “He was just a 32-year-old kid. It doesn’t make sense. A lot of our jammer friends — mostly 65-plus — have lost their lives recently. So hopefully he’s up there jamming in the sky with them.”
