I’m going with a continuation of yesterday’s Bloggery, because the death of John Hughes has hit my generation very hard, and on the day after we’re getting more lists and more memories, including one particularly popular eulogy from the filmmaker’s pen pal, which is shedding some light onto Hughes’ reasons for leaving Hollywood.

One thing that I’m finding interesting about the reactions to Hughes’ death is that he’s yet another example of how, as David Poland wrote back in June, “death is the ultimate disinfectant.” Not that many people stopped loving his ’80s teen movies after the man stopped directing, but the world didn’t quite respect him as much after he focused on writing and producing such family fare as Baby’s Day Out, the Beethoven movies and some unnecessary remakes for Disney.

Hughes’ death may not be the huge media story that Michael Jackson’s was, but given his contribution toward the definition of the ’80s, his decline in the ’90s and his association with Macauley Culkin, it’s not a huge stretch for all those “first MJ, now…” comments going around. When you think of ’80s music, you likely think of MJ. Likewise, when you think of ’80s movies, you think of JH. At least we still have the most important ’80s TV icon. But we might want to say our prayers for Bill Cosby…

Check out the further tributes and such from the film blogosphere after the jump:

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John Hughes was probably my first favorite filmmaker, or at least the first I really knew by name and reputation. So I’m especially saddened by his death from heart attack today, at age 59. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off may no longer be my favorite movie of all time — actually attending high school somewhat ruined the teen mythology that exists in Hughes’ films for me — but it forever remains in my top ten list of titles I enjoy watching over and over again (even if I am critical of the musical number).

Because many of us film bloggers grew up religiously watching his movies, including those he scripted but did not direct, there’s a lot of shared memories and tributes popping up around the web this evening. Check out what people are saying about the legacy of the iconic filmmaker after the jump:

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My favorite anecdote about Charlton Heston, who died over the weekend at the age of 84, has to do with him fighting for the role of the Mexican cop in Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. As Glenn Kenny tells it:

…any self-respecting cinephile knows that it was only through Charlton Heston’s intervention that Welles directed Touch of Evil in the first place. Welles had only been contracted to co-star in the picture as corrupt bordertown cop Hank Quinlan. When the producers contacted Heston for the lead role of Mexican narc “Mike” Vargas, they told him, “We’ve got Welles,” to which Heston replied, “Any picture Welles directs, I’ll make.” Which sent producers scurrying back to Welles, who rewrote and directed the picture for no extra fee.

Manohla Dargis, in her tribute to Heston, also waxes rhapsodic on Welles’ film, and particularly, its infamous opening tracking shot.

Shortly after the film opens, Vargas and his delectable new American bride, Susan (Janet Leigh), kiss at the Mexican-American border, a passionate embrace that leads to a cataclysmic explosion and soon plunges the newlyweds into a phantasmagoria of sleaze, violence and very low camera angles. Vargas, a celebrity cop who has brought a case against a drug ring that’s about to go to trial in Mexico City, spends much of the story separated from Susan and circling Quinlan, a dirty American lawman.

You can watch the first five minutes of Touch of Evil above. For more Heston memorials, check out David Hudson’s master list at GreenCine Daily.