Little Village: Bicyclist struck by vehicle, critically injured – Chicago Sun-Times

Kevin Clark, a Chicago musician famous for playing the drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in the movie “School of Rock,” was struck and killed by a driver early Wednesday while he biked in the Avondale neighborhood.

Clark, 32, was struck by a Hyundai Sonata around 1:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of North Western Avenue, police said.

Paramedics found him at Logan Boulevard and took him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The driver of the car that hit him, a 20-year-old woman, was issued citations, police said.

Clark lived in Lake View East and had played in several bands, including his most recent project, Jess Bess and the Intentions, which had its first live show Saturday, according to his mother Allison Clark.

“They were unbelievably fantastic and they would’ve gone somewhere,” Clark said.

Kevin Clark grew up in Highland Park and started playing drums at age 3 by “hitting pots and pans in the basement,” his mother said.

“He’s just a raw talent. He’s got a heart of gold,” Clark said.

At 12 years old, Clark secured a role in the 2003 hit “School of Rock” with Jack Black. Clark played an outspoken kid who was the band’s drummer.

Clark’s mother recalled how he had no acting experience but relished the experience after a friend brought him to the auditions. “He just kind of shined,” Clark said of her son. “He took it on right away, but he never really acted afterward.”

She remembered how her son learned he got the part before she did. A few weeks after the auditions, they were picking up pizza and she left Clark in the car a moment. When she returned he asked her, “Do you want to go to New York?”

“He said he got the part and I asked him how he knew. And he pointed to the area code on the phone,” she said.

Although he may not have continued acting, music remained in his blood.

“He was motivated and loved to write songs,” said Rob Goldberg, Clark’s roommate and bandmate in Robbie Gold. “He loved to take the guitar off the wall and make a funny song.”

The pair met in high school and played Nirvana and Green Day together, Goldberg said. As adults, they played gigs at Stanley’s, the Taste of Chicago and House of Blues.

“It was great working with Kevin,” Goldberg said, adding that he was shocked to hear of the death of his roommate of five years.

Goldberg wasn’t sure why Clark was biking in Avondale when he was hit, but he said Clark had several friends on the Northwest Side.

Clark’s past projects included Dreadwolf and Funk it Let’s Jam. Clark was also a shift manager at Starbucks at Irving and Clark, and had taught music at a School of Rock location in Libertyville, his mother said.

A memorial was planned for Wednesday night at the Wooden Nickel in Highwood.