Bottom line: Matthew Broderick found mainstream success with “WarGames,” a 1983 sci-fi film that made nearly $80 million on a $12 million budget. He followed that with “Ladyhawke” in 1985, a medieval fantasy movie by Richard Donner with Ruger Hauer and Michelle Mifcelle Pfeiffer that flopped at the box office.
But everyone knows Broderick from the sensational “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” another Hughes movie, which made $70 million at the box office on a $6.27 million budget. The 1986 movie catapulted Broderick to worldwide fame. Three years later, he released another hit film, “Glory,” which showcased his dramatic range.
In 1987, Broderick caused a car crash in Northern Ireland, when he crossed into the wrong lane and crashed head-first with a car driven by a 28-year-old woman, Anna Gallagher, and her 63-year-old mother, Margaret Doherty. Both women were killed. He was with actress Jennifer Grey at the time, whom he had been dating.
Broderick was not found to be intoxicated and ultimately was fined $175 (about $400 today) on the charge of careless driving.
