Joel Schumacher died on Monday while at a New York hospital. He succumbed to cancer aged 80.  Few tales of costume designers turned movie directors exist, let alone a director of movies like Batman Forever. Schumacher directed hits Falling Down, The Lost Boys, and St. Elmo’s Fire.

Tim Burton's exit from Warner Bros presented an opening at the Batman franchise. Joel acted on instinct and captured the moment.  Batman Forever grossed over $300 million worldwide, and featured an incredible cast of Jim Carrey, Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, and Tommy Lee Jones. This was followed by Batman and Robin, released in 2007.  

St. Elmo’s Fire took a unique dig into the intrigues of the post-college lives of some Georgetown graduates. The Lost Boys, was a brief directing adventure into the horror niche, that landed gold and tuned into a cult favorite. Flatliners was a blend of horror and thriller, focussing on arrogant medical students playing god through reckless experimentation. It raked in $61 million domestically. He produced a few episodes of the TV show House of Cards. Collectively, the combined value of his films exceeds $1 billion.  

Positive tributes and messages of condolences from people he personally knew or worked with are pouring in.  Emmy Rossum, who acted in his adaptation of the Phantom Opera in 2004, passed her tribute via Twitter. She described him as "Creative. Kind. Passionate." 

Corey Feldman, who starred in The Lost Boys tweeted, "JOEL U R A BEAUTIFUL SOUL & U WILL B MISSED!”