Stars we lost in 2023: Richard Roundtree, trailblazing 'Shaft' actor

Roundtree, a trailblazing actor, best known as the star of ‘Shaft,’ passed away at his home in Los Angeles in October 2023. He was 81 years old. As his manager said, "Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men. The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated."

Sadly, Roundtree was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just around two months earlier, said McMinn. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers, killing around 95% of patients, according to CNN, because there are usually no symptoms of it in the early stages.

Roundtree will go down in history as the first Black action hero in a blockbuster Hollywood film. In that role, he played the legendary John Shaft — a private detective who all the women love in the 1971 film 'Shaft.' Can you dig it? For the role, he got a Golden Globe nod.

His swag, style, and talent in the film catapulted Roundtree to global fame when he was 29 years old. But it was more than that. As he told the New York Times in 1972, he brought to the screen, "a Black man who is for once a winner."

Playing off the massive success of the 1972 movie, Roundtree reprised his role as the womanizing detective in the 1972 flick 'Shaft’s Big Score!'

Testifying to how big the movie was, there was another sequel within three years. In this one, filmed largely in Ethiopia, Shaft posed as an indigenous man to break up a human smuggling crime ring. Despite any cheesiness, as an Essence magazine critic put it: ‘Shaft’ was “the first picture to show a Black man who leads a life free from racial torment.”

Jackson, who also played Shaft’s nephew/son later on, led the tributes. “Richard Roundtree, The Prototype, The Best To Ever Do It!! SHAFT, as we know it is & will always be His Creation!! His passing leaves a deep hole not only in my heart, but I’m sure a lotta y’all’s, too,” he said, adding that the death was “a real blow.”

Born in New York in 1940 to a butler and a cook, Roundtree grew up as a star football player. But after getting a scholarship for his skills, he dropped out to model and then act. He joined a theater ensemble company where he began to shine on stage and was soon recruited for 'Shaft.'

While Roundtree became synonymous with the "bad mother — (shut your mouth)" of Shaft, his career didn’t stop there. In fact, he had a robust and long-term acting career, making some interesting appearances. His first movie post-'Shaft' was in the Oscar-winning 1974 film ‘Earthquake’ alongside Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner.

In 1977, Roundtree took on another critical role in the ABC miniseries ‘Roots.’ It told the story of an African man taken to North America as a slave. In an ABC celebrating its anniversary, Roundtree explained its importance: “You got a sense of white Americans saying, ‘D a m n, that really happened'."

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he acted in at least 34 films, ranging from the period drama 'Once Upon a Time… When We Were Colored,' to the acclaimed 1995 crime movie 'Seven.'

In the 1990s, Roundtree also reemerged as a small screen icon, making classic appearances in shows like ‘Beverly Hills, 90210,' 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' '21 Jump Street,' and 'MacGyver.'

Two decades before his death, Roundtree survived another bought of cancer. Although rare in men, he was diagnosed with b r e a s t cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy.

In 2000, Samuel L. Jackson brought ‘Shaft’ to a whole new audience with a remake where he played the nephew of Roundtree’s character. Of course, the late actor made a notable appearance there as well. In 2019, there was another remake and both actors also appeared again.

Roundtree was also prolific throughout the 21st century in both film and TV. While he had many recurring roles and starring roles, one of his most seen were in hit shows ‘Desperate Housewives’ as an amoral private detective and on 'Grey's Anatomy' as the father of Preston Burke.

Gabrielle Union, who worked with him in ‘Being Mary Jane,’ remembered him fondly. “Working with Richard Roundtree was a dream. Getting to hang with him & our Being Mary Jane family was always a good a * * time with the best stories & laughs. He was ALWAYS the coolest man in the room with the BEST vibes & [people] would literally run over to come see him,” she wrote on social media.

Roundtree was passionate about his work and continued acting throughout his life. His last film was in 2022's ‘Moving On,’ alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. On TV, his last roles were in the 2022 anthology series ‘Cherish the Day’ and in the Netflix sitcom ‘Family Reunion’ playing the role of a grandpa. In real life, he leaves behind five children of his own.