Richard Roundtree has died aged 81.
The Shaft star’s manager, Patrick McMinn, confirmed to Variety that he passed away on Tuesday (October 24, 23) after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Richard’s work and career were a turning point for leading African American men in cinema,” Patrick McMinn said in his statement. The impact he has had on the industry cannot be overstated. »
Richard Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942 in Rochester, New York and briefly attended Southern Illinois University before dropping out to pursue modeling. In the late 1960s, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company and began acting in New York stage productions before being cast at the age of 28 as Detective John Shaft in the 1971 Gordon Parks action thriller Shaft, Red Nights of Harlem .
Richard Roundtree reprized his role in The New Exploits of Shaft, then in Shaft Against the Man Traffickers and in a short television series. He returned as his character for the new version in 2000 with Samuel L. Jackson and again in 2019.
Richard Roundtree has also appeared in films such as Se7en, Brick and Speed Racer and series such as Roots, Magnum, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Alias, Desperate Housewives, Heroes and The Cruise. He is survived by his four daughters Nicole, Tayler, Morgan and Kelli and his son James.