Richard Roundtree, ‘Shaft’ Star, Dies at 81
variety.comJ. Kim Murphy Richard Roundtree, an icon of Blaxploitation film who starred as detective John Shaft in Gordon Parks’ 1971 action thriller, died Tuesday afternoon after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was 81 years old. His death was confirmed by Patrick McMinn, his manager since 1987. “Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film,” McMinn said in his statement. “The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.” Roundtree was a leading man from the very start of his lifetime in screen acting.
After beginning his career in modeling, he secured “Shaft” at the age of 28, marking his feature debut. A smash hit in theaters, the MGM release earned $12 million in ticket sales off of a $500,000 production budget, helping to save the studio from bankruptcy.
A breakthrough hit, “Shaft” set the tone for a prolific decade of Blaxploitation filmmaking and demonstrated Hollywood’s historical failure to consider Black talent and the moviegoing audiences that they could reach.
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