Legendary blaxploitation star Richard Roundtree died Tuesday of cancer, his family told entertainment news outlets.
He was 81.
Mr. Roundtree died surrounded by family Tuesday afternoon from pancreatic cancer, Deadline reported.
“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,” his agency, Artists & Representatives, said in a statement to Deadline.
Mr. Roundtree shot to fame in the early 1970s as the star of one of the most important Black films in cinema history, the original “Shaft.”
He played detective John Shaft, a role originally written for a White actor, in the 1971 film and in two sequels. He then reprised the role in a short-lived TV series and in cameos for two reboots for a later generation — by director John Singleton in 2000 and by director Tim Story in 2019.
The original Gordon Parks-directed film was a box-office smash as Mr. Roundtree played a traditional tough-guy detective hero in the kind of film that Hollywood had made for decades starring White actors. It kicked off the “blaxpolitation” genre that lasted at least through the rest of the 1970s.
His other roles included playing a slave in the smash 1977 TV miniseries “Roots” and a major role in the 1981 film “Inchon” about the U.S. involvement in the Korean War.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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