Principal Joe Clark, who inspired film âLean on Me,â dies at Florida home
Morgan Freeman starred as Clark in the 1989 film Lean on Me that was loosely based on Clarkâs tenure at Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J.
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In this 1988 photo, Joe Clark, principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J., stands with rap group Run-DMC before the group gave a concert at the school in support of Clark's way of running his school. Clark died at his Florida home on Tuesday. [ PETER CANATA | AP ]
Published Dec. 30, 2020
GAINESVILLE â Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film