Joe Clark, the principal who inspired the movie «Lean on Me» starring Morgan Freeman, died Tuesday at the age of 82.
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 honorary doctorate from the U.S. Sports Academy. Clark also served as a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant and a drill instructor. Clark started teaching at a Paterson grade school in Essex County, N.J., before becoming principal of PS 6 Grammar School.
