Glen Ellyn to celebrate 30th anniversary of movie 'Lucas'

GLEN ELLYN – Being in the 1986 movie "Lucas" – filmed at Glenbard West High School, Lake Ellyn Park and the Glen Art Theatre – helped launch the career of former Glenbard West student-turned-actor Tom Hodges, who got his first speaking role in the movie.

"It was pretty amazing," said Hodges, 50, who attended Glenbard West for two years and then transferred to the Chicago Academy for the Arts. "I had done a lot of work as an extra prior to 'Lucas,' but I never had a speaking role."

The Glen Ellyn Historical Society will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the local filming and release of "Lucas" with two showings of the movie at 2 and 7 p.m. April 30 at the Glen Ellyn History Center, 800 N. Main St.

Popcorn will be served as part of the first showing at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 each.

Former Glenbard West students and other community members will be on hand at the 7 p.m. screening. Wine, cheese, dessert and popcorn will be served.

Admission for the 7 p.m. screening is $10 for Glen Ellyn Historical Society members and $15 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Stacy's Corners Store at the Glen Ellyn History Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. More information is available by calling the Historical Society at 630-469-1867.

A jacket that Hodges wore in "Lucas" – he played a football player – will be on display during the two showings of the movie. "Lucas" also featured Charlie Sheen, who also was a relatively new actor at the time. Hodges said they became good friends on the set.

"We hung out during the filming, and then I moved to Los Angeles, and we continued to spend time together," Hodges said. "He was just an incredibly smart guy, really funny and very charming, and a lot of fun to hang out with. We liked to play poker together and just hang out in his parents' place in Malibu. So it was a fun entrance into Hollywood."

He also became good friends with Corey Haim, who played Lucas in the movie. Hodges said he was saddened upon hearing about Haim's death in 2010 at the age of 38.

Although he played a high school student in "Lucas," Hodges turned 20 during the filming of the movie.

"We had a little birthday celebration in the faculty parking lot at Glenbard West," Hodges said. "I think I still have the birthday cards somewhere."

And even though he played a football player in the film, Hodges said he is far from an athlete.

"That's the great thing about acting," Hodges said. "You get to play people that you are not in real life...I can do a lot of things as an actor and pull them off that I could never accomplish in real life."

Hodges lived in Glen Ellyn for 16 years and remembers those years fondly.

"There was a true sense of community in Glen Ellyn and a lot of creativity that I didn't appreciate until after I moved away," Hodges said.

After "Lucas," Hodges appeared in such movies as "Steel Magnolias," "Michael" and "Stigmata," and starred in the television series "The Hogan Family." For the past several years, he has been working with "Friends" star David Schwimmer in developing film and television projects.

Aside from launching his career, Hodges said he is happy to see how "Lucas" continues to touch people today.

"I was part of this movie that seems to be a touchstone for people, not only for those who grew up back then, but for kids now," Hodges said. "To think that all these years later that there are teenagers still discovering this movie and being moved by it, I think that's pretty amazing."