Legendary New Jersey principal Joe Clark, who was famous for carrying a baseball bat and inspired the film Lean On Me starring Morgan Freeman, dies at Florida home at age 82
Clark died at his Gainesville, Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in statement
The baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal inspired the 1989 film Lean On Me starring Morgan Freeman
He was principal of crime and drug-ridden Eastside High School in New Jersey
Clark in one day expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, abusing teachers and drug possession
President Ronald Reagan offered Clark a White House policy advisor position after his success at the high school, but he declined
Joe Clark, former principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, poses for a photo in the school hallways in February of 1988. (Photo by Joe McNally/Getty Images)
Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding Principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods at Paterson, New Jersey’s
Eastside High School inspired the 1989 film
Lean on Me, has passed away.
A longtime resident of South Orange, NJ, Clark (82) retired to Gainesville, Florida. He was at home and surrounded by his family when he succumbed to his long battle with illness on December 29, 2020.
Born in Rochelle, Georgia, on May 8, 1938, Clark’s family moved north to Newark, New Jersey, when he was six years old. It was in the Garden State that Clark built his legacy through both his accomplished career in education and his children: Olympian and businesswoman
Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film "Lean on Me," died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in statement. He was 82.
Joe Clark, bat-wielding principal who inspired ‘Lean on Me’ movie, dies at 82
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
FILE - In this Dec. 21, 1987, file photo, Eastside High School Principal Joe Clark is pictured at a rally by student supporters in Paterson, N.J.AP Photo/Peter Cannata, File
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in statement. He was 82.
Born in Rochelle, Georgia, on May 8, 1938, Clark’s family moved north to Newark, New Jersey, when he was 6 years old. After graduating from Newark Central High School, Clark received his bachelor’s degree from William Paterson College (now William Paterson University), a master’s degree from Seton Hall University, and an honora
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