2023-10-25 08:08:39
American actor Richard Roundtree, in New York, June 10, 2019. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
American actor Richard Roundtree, considered the “first black action film hero” after his role in Shaft, in 1971, died Tuesday October 24, reported several American media. He was 81 years old.
The actor is known for giving new perspectives to black actors. He died in Los Angeles with his family “after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer”announced the specialized site Deadline.
Shaft, in which he plays the eponymous private detective John Shaft, was a huge success upon its release and led to several sequels and series. More than fifty years later, Richard Roundtree still appeared on screen, for example in the comedy Moving Onin 2022, and in the series Cherish the Day.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers With the “Roots” series, the United States faces the reality of slavery
A cult film and founder of “blaxploitation”
“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for early African-American male roles in cinema”said his agent, Patrick McMinn, in a statement to the magazine Variety.
Shaft is considered a cult film and founder of “blaxploitation”. This genre from the 1970s was sometimes praised for having upgraded the image of African-Americans in the United States. His detractors say he only reinforced certain stereotypes.
“I saw it as a double-edged blade”Richard Roundtree said about Shaft on NPR radio in 2019. “But so many people, from all over the country, and even around the world, have come up to me and told me what this film meant to them in 1971.”he added. “The other side of the coin was that I was typecast for a while, and then I struggled to nuance the way I play”the actor testified.
#Richard #Roundtree #black #action #hero #dead