School of Rock drummer Kevin Alexander Clark was mortally struck by a car today while he was riding his bicycle on the Northwest side of Chicago. A friend of Clark’s verified the sad news today with EW. And according to the Chicago Sun-Times, Clark had just performed this past weekend with his band, Jess Bess and The Intentions. Clark was 32 years young when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. The driver of the vehicle is a 20-year-old woman. Paramedics found Clark on Logan Boulevard and immediately rushed him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. He would later be pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m.
Kevin’s Early Life
Kevin Clark was born December 3, 1988, in Highland Park, Illinois. When he was 3 years old, Clark started playing drums and started taking private lessons at the age of 5. Then at the tender age of 12, Clark was cast in School of Rock. Without any acting experience or any willingness to be an actor, it was all driven by his love for the drums. Clark had even said so himself.
Early on, a famous casting agent in New York told me, ‘If your heart isn’t in [acting], just get out now,'” Clark recalled. “It took me two years of auditioning to figure out, ‘You know what? It was great being so lucky to do The School of Rock, but music is what I want to do.”
His IMDB page also highlights his love for music with him only having one acting credit to his name.
Jack Black took to Instagram to voice his sadness at this shocking news. Even after School of Rock Black and Clark would hang out whenever Tenacious D would come to Chicago, even going as far as having Clark backstage at the shows. Clark’s mother, Allison Clark, said this about her son, Kevin Alexander Clark:
He loved music. He’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold.”
Our condolences go out to Clark’s family.