Richard Roundtree, the iconic actor best known for playing John Shaft in the original feature film, has passed away. Deadline brings word of his death, revealing he died today following “a brief battle with pancreatic cancer,” he was 81 years old. Roundtree’s agency Artists & Representatives confirmed, the news, writing in a statement: “Artists & Representatives Agency mourns the loss of our friend and client Richard Roundtree. His trailblazing career changed the face of entertainment around the globe and his enduring legacy will be felt for generations to come. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Born in New Rochelle, New York in 1942, Roundtree began his acting career on the stage, joining New York City’s Negro Ensemble Company in 1967, taking on roles like boxer Jack Johnson. In 1971 he would make his feature film debut, playing the role of John Shaft in Gordon Parks’ classic blaxploitation movie, Shaft. The film would go on to gross over $12 million on a reported budget of half a million. Roundtree would go on to reprise his role in two sequels, Shaft’s Big Score! in 1972 and Shaft in Africa in 1973. He would go on to reprise the part as well for a short-lived Shaft TV series, which aired just seven episodes. The two reboots of Shaft on the big screen would also recruit Roundtree for an appearance, with the actor starring alongside Samuel L Jackson in John Singleton’s 2000 movie and then once again for Tim Story’s 2019 feature film as well.
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“I used to look at it as a double-edged sword,” Roundtree told WBUR in 2019 on the responsibility he felt playing the role of John Shaft. “But I’ve had so many people from all over the country – and all over the world actually – come up and say what that film meant to them back in ’71. It’s heavy. And I’m appreciative of people speaking to me and sharing that with me. The other side of it is I got typecast for quite some time, and then I’ve gone out of my way to establish a different side of my acting, even going to playing the first interracial gay couple married on television.”
Richard Roundtree’s career did expand beyond Shaft like he said, including appearances in films like 1974’s Earthquake, David FIncher’s Se7en, Rian Johnson’s Brick, and the live-action Speed Racer. His career also stretched into television, including the role of Sam Bennett in 1977’s miniseries adaptation of Roots. Roundtree also had appearances in The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, 21 Jump Street, MacGyver, Beverly Hills, 90210, L.A. Law, Alias, Desperate Housewives, Being Mary Jane, and Family Reunion. The actor even played the role of Blade’s father in the short-lived Blade TV series starring Sticky Fingaz
(Cover Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
