In the hours since legendary comedy writer and director [article id="1617796"]John Hughes passed away at the age of 59[/article] from a heart attack, tributes from actors who worked with him over his decades-long career have poured in.

"I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes," Matthew Broderick, who starred in Hughes' "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," said in a statement. "He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family."

Macaulay Culkin rose to fame in the Hughes-scripted blockbuster "Home Alone" and went on to appear in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" two years later. "I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person," Culkin said in a statement. "The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man."

In 1987, Steve Martin starred alongside John Candy in another of Hughes' writer/director projects, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." "He was such a great writer who created so many enduring characters for film, both as a director and a writer," Martin told CNN. "His real gift was in creating these identifiable characters."

"The script for 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' was the best script I had ever read," he added. "I asked John how long it took to write it, he said, 'I wrote it over the weekend.' The weekend. That shows you what he was able to do."

Jon Cryer, who played the memorable role of Duckie in 1986's "Pretty in Pink," said in a statement, "This is a horrible tragedy. He was an amazing man to work for and with. He respected young actors in a way that made you realize you had to step up your game because you were playing in the big leagues now. That's why he got such great performances out of his actors. My heart goes out to his wife Nancy and their children."

Tributes have come as well from directors and actors who never worked with Hughes but nonetheless were influenced by his work. "The flag's at half-mast," wrote Kevin Smith on his Twitter. "John Hughes, the man who spoke for geeks way before anyone else did."

"R.I.P. John Hughes," Rainn Wilson tweeted. " 'The Breakfast Club' was a revelation to my late teen-age years. You're my hero."