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Kevin Clark drummer in School of Rock Killed by a Driver While Cycling

32 year old Kevin Clark died last week after being hit by a driver while cycling through Chicago 

Kevin Clark, best known for drumming as Freddy Jones, in the film School of Rock, has died after a motorist hit him in Chicago. 

He was riding his bicycle on the Northwest Side of Chicago early on Wednesday May 26 when he was hit by a Hyundai Sonata along the 2600 block of North Western avenue in Avondale, Chicago.

Following the collision, Clark was rushed to a hospital and was later pronounced dead, by the  Cook County Medical Examiner.

The driver of the Hyundai Sonata, a 20-year-old woman, was issued several citations. Clark was taken by paramedics to the Illinois Masonic Medical Center and pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m.

The 2003 comedy starring Jack Black was Clark’s only film credit. He reconnected with Black back in 2018 for a School of Rock reunion during a Tenacious D set in Chicago.

Kevin Clark drummer in School of Rock Killed by a Driver While Cycling

Clark continued to perform as a drummer after his appearance in School of Rock, playing in numerous bands, including Dreadwolf and Funk It Let’s Jam. His latest group, Jess Bess and the Intentions, had but recently formed; the band’s first live performance happened just last weekend in the North Shore, an area north of the city.

“He loved music. He’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold,” his mother, Allison Clark, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “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.”

Clark’s mother said her son started playing drums at age three by “hitting pots and pans in the basement, he’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold,” she said.

Of his role in School of Rock, his mother added, “He just kind of shined ... He took it on right away, but he never really acted afterward.”

Drumming in local bands, Clark appeared in Dreadwolf and Funk it Let’s Jam and taught music at a School of Rock location in Libertyville, Illinois.

In addition to performing music, Clark was an avid songwriter and taught kids at a local School of Rock location.

“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,” his co-star Jack Black said in an Instagram post.

“You know, we’re all really in shock,” Allison Clark said. “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.”