A new documentary asking whether a little-known comedy writer named Ferris Butler helped inspire John Hughes's iconic teen antihero is coming to Park Ridge, with daily screenings at the historic Pickwick Theatre from September 18 through September 24. Saving Ferris Butler centers on Butler's own claim that he was the inspiration for Ferris Bueller, the sly, charming truant at the heart of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the 40-year-old film by John Hughes that was filmed in Chicago.
The documentary and its Park Ridge run were detailed by the Chicago Tribune, which reports that the film will play daily at the Pickwick Theatre, located at 5 S. Prospect Avenue, with Q&A sessions after selected performances. Butler himself was a comic and Saturday Night Live writer, and according to the film's own account, he was married to songwriter Beverly Ross, best known for co-writing “Lollipop” — a marriage that places him at the intersection of two very different corners of American pop culture, as detailed on the Saving Ferris Butler website.
Before the film reaches suburban Chicago, it already made a splash of sorts in New York. The documentary held its world premiere at Manhattan's Quad Cinema, a booking timed to the exact 40th anniversary of Ferris Bueller's Day Off's original 1986 theatrical release, according to City Guide New York.
A Free Spirit Who Reminded Everyone of Ferris Bueller
A Free Spirit Who Reminded Everyone of Ferris Bueller The film's executive producer and host, D.B. Frick, met Butler 15 years before making the documentary. Frick is a veteran comedy writer with more than 30 years in the business, including writing jokes for Conan O'Brien in 1999 and 2000 and contributing to National Lampoon projects, according to a profile in Bold Journey Magazine.
Central to the movie's premise is the connection it draws between Butler's story and Del Close, who later appeared on screen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, playing Ferris's high school English teacher — a role documented on Wikipedia. The film treats Close as a connective thread between Butler and director John Hughes.
Notably, per the Tribune's reporting, Butler's claim remains unverified rather than settled fact — a tension the film leans into rather than resolves, framing itself more as a study of creative recognition and obscurity than a legal case for authorship.
From Cable Access to SNL's Rockiest Season
Long before any Ferris Bueller connection, Butler was carving out a reputation in New York's underground comedy scene. He created Waste Meat News in the mid-1970s, recognized as New York City's first public cable access comedy show, according to the film's own account on the Saving Ferris Butler site. That unfiltered, low-budget format became a testing ground before Butler moved into network television as a writer for Saturday Night Live.
Butler worked on SNL during its sixth season, a tumultuous period for the show. During that 1980-81 season, Butler wrote sketches including “Leather Weather,” featuring cast members Denny Dillon and Charlie Rocket, according to the film's account. He also worked alongside cast member Patrick Weathers, who is featured in the documentary. Weathers is expected to join some of the Pickwick's Q&A discussions.
That same season also featured Eddie Murphy. Butler's career is part of the documentary's subject.
Behind the Camera and Inside the Historic Pickwick
Frick's documentary includes SNL historian and Entertainment Weekly writer Andy Hoglund among its participants. Directing duties went to Julius Olivas.
The finished documentary runs 46 minutes and was made on an estimated budget of $25,000, according to a listing on FilmFreeway. Ahead of its Chicago-area run, the documentary is being presented to local audiences.
The Pickwick itself has a history as a Park Ridge theater.
The Pickwick run will include daily screenings and post-show Q&A sessions. For a suburb already steeped in Ferris Bueller lore thanks to the film's Chicago-area filming locations, the documentary's arrival adds one more layer to the ongoing question of who, exactly, inspired the character who skipped school and stole a Ferrari 40 years ago.
