Richard Roundtree, the actor who helped define cinematic cool with his iconic title role in Shaft and its sequels, has died at age 81.
Roundtree died on Tuesday afternoon after a short bout with pancreatic cancer, according to Deadline.
He was surrounded by family at the time of his death.
In 2019, the screen star reprised his Shaft role with Samuel L. Jackson playing his son.
Roundtree first starred as the detective John Shaft in 1971’s Shaft, which was directed by the photographer and composer–turned–filmmaker Gordon Parks and featured a classic soundtrack recorded by Isaac Hayes.
Classic star: Richard Roundtree, who helped define cinematic cool with his iconic title role in Shaft and its sequels, has died at age 81 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer; seen in 2022
Iconic role: Roundtree first starred as the detective John Shaft in 1971’s Shaft, which was directed by the photographer and composer–turned–filmmaker Gordon Parks and featured a classic soundtrack recorded by Isaac Hayes
Shaft initially received mixed reviews, with some critics objecting to the films harsh language and occasionally brutal violence.
Others criticized the feature for not having a more dignified character for Roundtree and other Black actors to play, though Parks responded to one critical essay in the New York Times in 1971.
The original author had criticized Shaft for focusing on a private detective in the mold of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, rather than being a more high-minded drama in the mold of the Jack Nicholson–starring Five Easy Pieces
‘I don’t think the choice for Black people is limited to either Five Easy Pieces or Stepin Fetchit,’ Parks wrote in defense, referring to the actor who was infamous for his racist portrayals of lazy Black men.
Even if Shaft polarized critics, it was a hit with audiences, at the film went on to earn an astounding $12 million (equivalent to over $373 million when accounting for inflation) against a budget of just $500,000.
The film made Roundtree a star, and he was nominated for the Golden Globe award for New Star of the Year for the 1971 film.
He was back the following year to reprise his role in Shaft’s Big Score!, which was also a commercial success and is now viewed even more favorably than the original by some modern critics.
The film was rushed into production even before work on the first Shaft film had been completed, as MGM executives predicted — correctly — that the first film would be a commercial success.
Fan favorite: Shaft initially received mixed reviews, with some critics objecting to the films harsh language and occasionally violence, but it was a hit with audiences and at the box office
Take two: Roundtree was back the following year to reprise his role in Shaft’s Big Score!, which was also a commercial success and is now viewed even more favorably than the original by some modern critics
Roundtree returned to play Shaft again in 1973’s Shaft In Africa, this time with John Guillermin in the director’s chair, but that film was a commercial and critical bomb.
Part of its failure was attributed to the rise of other Blaxploitation films that were inspired by the 1971 original and now competed with it, while even James Bond — whom the later incarnations of Shaft were compared to — had adopted elements of the controversial genre with 1973’s Live And Let Die.
The Roger Moore–starring spy thriller hit theaters just a week after Shaft in Africa debuted.
