Richard Roundtree, the iconic figure of Blaxploitation cinema known for his portrayal of detective John Shaft in Gordon Parks’ 1971 action thriller, passed away on Tuesday afternoon after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81 years old.
His manager since 1987, Patrick McMinn, confirmed his death.
“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film,” McMinn stated. “The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”
Roundtree began his career as a leading man when he was only 28 years old. After starting in the world of modeling, he secured the role of “Shaft,” marking his feature film debut. This MGM release, with a production budget of $500,000, earned $12 million in ticket sales, effectively saving the studio from bankruptcy. “Shaft” became a breakthrough hit that set the stage for a prolific decade of Blaxploitation films and highlighted Hollywood’s historical oversight of Black talent and the untapped audience they could reach.
When questioned about the “exploitation” label associated with “Shaft” in a 2019 interview by the New York Times, Roundtree expressed some ambiguity regarding the term.
“I had the privilege of working with the classiest gentleman possibly that I’ve ever known in the industry, Gordon Parks. So, that word, exploitation, I take offense to with any attachment to Gordon Parks… I’ve always viewed that as a negative. Exploitation. Who’s being exploited?” Roundtree said. “But it gave a lot of people work. It gave a lot of people entrée into the business, including a lot of our present-day producers and directors. So, in the big picture, I view it as a positive.”
Two sequels to “Shaft” followed quickly within two years: “Shaft’s Big Score” and “Shaft in Africa.” In 1973, CBS attempted a “Shaft” television series starring Roundtree, but it only lasted a few episodes.
“Events cannot be erased, but that’s one I wish I could,” Roundtree told the Times in 2019. “I had just come back from ‘Shaft in Africa’ when they tried to convert the character to television. It wasn’t going to happen. That was an ugly point in my long, illustrious career.”
However, Roundtree’s career was indeed long and illustrious. Beyond his iconic role, he had performances in various films, such as the disaster film “Earthquake,” a leading role alongside Peter O’Toole in “Man Friday,” and a portrayal of an ill-fated detective in Larry Cohen’s monster comedy “Q — The Winged Serpent.” He also made frequent guest appearances on TV, with credits including “Roots,” “Magnum P.I.,” and “The Love Boat.”
In 2000, Roundtree revisited the “Shaft” universe in director John Singleton’s revival of the franchise, starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrayed a detective named John Shaft, the nephew of Roundtree’s original private investigator. Both actors reprised their roles in the 2019 comedic take on the series directed by Tim Story.
Born on July 9, 1942, in Rochester, N.Y., Roundtree briefly attended Southern Illinois University before dropping out to pursue a career in modeling. In the late ’60s, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company and began acting in stage productions in New York.
Roundtree worked consistently for over 50 years, leaving an indelible mark on cinema with his portrayal of “Shaft” and contributing to films like “Se7en,” “Brick,” and “Speed Racer.” He played a supporting role in “Moving On,” a comedy featuring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year and was released in theaters this past summer.
Roundtree was married twice, first to Mary Jane Grant from 1963 to 1973 and later to Karen M. Cierna from 1980 to 1998. He is survived by his four daughters, Nicole, Tayler, Morgan, and Kelli Roundtree, and his son, James.