Principal Joe Clark, who inspired film 'Lean on Me,' dies
Joe Clark, principal of Eastside High School in Patterson, New Jersey, poses for a photo in the school hallways in February of 1988 in Paterson New Jersey. Photo by Joe McNally/Getty Images)
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," has died.
Clark passed away at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in a statement. He was 82.
His family said that Clark started teaching at a Paterson grade school in Passaic County, New Jersey, before becoming principal of PS 6 Grammar School. He was later appointed principal of the crime- and drug-ridden Eastside High School.
Morgan Freeman starred as Clark in the 1989 film "Lean on Me" which was loosely based on Clark's tenure at Eastside.