Kevin Clark, who played high-strung drummer Freddy Jones (aka “Spazzy McGee”) in the 2003 comedy School of Rock, was killed in an accident earlier this morning. He was 32.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times who reported the story, Clark was out for a bike ride early Wednesday morning, when a 20-year-old unidentified woman driving a Hyundai Sonata, hit him around the 2600 block of North Western Avenue. The intersection is notorious for being dangerous.
Paramedics took Clark to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m. This, according to the Chicago Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The driver was not arrested, but issued several citations, police said.
When Clark was 12 he was cast alongside comedian Jack Black in the hit comedy School of Rock. Clark had no previous acting experience but had been drumming since the age of 3.
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Richard Linklater, the film’s director, had conducted a nationwide talent search for talented middle school musicians. Clark fit the bill as he and the others would actually play the music in the film.
On Instagram, Jack Black posted a side-by-side photo of Clark as a child actor and as an adult and shared how crushed he was by the awful news.
“Devastating news. Kevin is gone. Way too soon. Beautiful soul. So many great memories. Heartbroken. Sending love to his family and the whole School of Rock community,” he said.
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“He’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold,” Clark’s mother Allison told the Sun-Times. “He just kind of shined. He took it on right away, but he never really acted afterward.”
Prior to his death, Clark had played in several bands in the Chicagoland area, including his most recent project, Jess Bess and the Intentions. The band had its first live show on Saturday.
In 2015, Clark participated in a live reunion show with the entire cast, including Jack Black.
