Alan Metter Dies: Film Director For ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ And ‘Back To School’ Was 77

Alan Metter, the director for the 1980s pop culture films Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Back To School, died on June 7, according to the New York Film Academy, where he taught. Details on the cause or location were not provided.

Metter was born in Sharon, Mass., on Dec. 19, 1942 and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1965 with a degree in philosophy. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career.

His early days saw him directing music videos for George Harrison and Oliva Newton-John. But he got his break with a directing job on Girls Just Want to Have Fun, starring Sarah Jessica Parker.

From there, he directed Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield and Moving with Richard Pryor.

His resume also lists the TV special The Winds of Whoopie with Steve Martin, and the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen vehicles Billboard Dad and Passport to Paris.

Metter retired in the early 2000s and moved to Florida.