Famed NJ principal Joe Clark, who inspired film Lean on Me, dies pix11.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pix11.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Legendary N.J. principal, who inspired the film ‘Lean on Me,’ dies at 82
Updated Dec 31, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
Joe Clark, the retired principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, where he gained fame and criticism for his iron rule, is pictured in this Star-Ledger file photo from July 2000. At the time, he was working as the director of the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center.Patti Sapone
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Joe Louis Clark, the former bat-wielding principal of Paterson’s Eastside High School whose strict disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean On Me,” died Tuesday at the age of 82, his family said.
Clark, a longtime resident of South Orange, retired to Gainesville, Florida, died surrounded by his family at his home after a long battle with an illness, they said.
Joe Clark, Inspiration Behind 1989 Film Lean On Me, Dead At 82
As the principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, Clark utilized an unorthodox way of improving the school s standards.
Lean on Me.
As the principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, Clark utilized an unorthodox way of upping the school’s standards, which garnered national attention.
His family released a statement confirming his passing and reflected on his life, saying he roamed the hallways “with a bullhorn and a baseball bat,” methods that “won him both admirers and critics nationwide.” The statement continued by saying that in a single day, “he expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, abusing teachers, and drug possession,” which was replicated in one scene from the film.
Clark, a longtime resident of South Orange, retired to Gainesville, Florida, died surrounded by his family at his home after a long battle with an illness.
Joe Clark, principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1988
Morgan Freeman picked up his bullhorn and baseball bat to star in the 1989 Warner Bros. movie.
Joe Clark, the uncompromising New Jersey high school principal who employed a bullhorn and baseball bat to round his students into shape en route to becoming the subject of the inspirational Morgan Freeman film
Lean on Me, has died. He was 82.
Clark died Tuesday after a long illness at his home in Gainesville, Florida, his family announced.
Soon after taking over as head of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, Clark expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, abusing teachers and drug possession in one day and challenged the kids that remained to perform better.