Shaft icon Richard Roundtree smashed prejudice to become first Black action star
Starring as a streetwise private detective who was super smooth but could also get rough, Richard Roundtree was captivating in the lead role of crime thriller Shaft.
His portrayal of a man who plays by his own rules helped to make the 1971 movie a huge success. And it led to the US actor, who has died aged 81 of pancreatic cancer, being hailed as the first Black action hero. His performance as rebel John Shaft has been called a “turning point for African-American leading men”.
Tributes to the trailblazing actor were led by Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson, who appeared alongside Richard in two Shaft sequels. Samuel, 74, said on Instagram : “His passing leaves a deep hole not only in my heart, but I’m sure a lotta y’all’s, too. Love you brother, I see you walking down the middle of Main Street in Heaven and Isaac [Hayes is] conducting your song, coat blowin’ in wind!!
Richard as Shaft (Everett Collection / Rex Features)
The movie that broke down barriers - 1971's Shaft (Getty Images)“Angels whispering, ‘That cat SHAFT is a bad mutha, shutcho mouth!! But I’m talkin’ bout SHAFT!! Then we can dig it.” He was referring to the late Isaac Hayes’ track Theme from Shaft which won the Oscar for best original song. Another of Richard’s recent co-stars, Gabrielle Union, 50, said: “He was always the coolest man in the room with the best vibes.
People would literally run over to see him. He was simply the best and we all loved him.” Richard died at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager Patrick McMinn. Patrick said: “His work and career served as a turning point for African-American leading men. The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”
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Richard was born in New Rochelle in New York state in 1942, to parents John and Kathryn. The couple were identified in America’s 1940 census as a butler and a cook in the same household. Richard excelled at sport as a lad. After leaving school in 1961, he won an American football scholarship at Southern Illinois University.
With Telly Savalas and Roger Moore in Escape to Athena (Mirrorpix)But he dropped out in 1963 after he spent a summer as a model. He had a number of other jobs before beginning his acting career in theatre, joining the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City. His debut role was in The Great White Hope in 1967, playing a fictionalised version of Jack Johnson, the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion.
It was through his theatre work that Richard came to the attention of Hollywood casting chiefs. He was little known nationally when, aged 28, he landed the role of Shaft. He became a leading actor in the Blaxploitation genre. The movie, directed by Gordon Parks, cost about £410,000 to make but earned £10million in ticket sales, helping to save MGM Studio from bankruptcy.
Its strapline was: “Hotter than Bond. Cooler than Bullitt.” The film set a tone for others to follow and there was a surge in African-American film-making. When asked about the Blaxploitation label attached to Shaft, Richard said in 2019: “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 offence to with any attachment to Gordon.
Richard with Pam Grier (Universal Pictorial Press)“I’ve always viewed that as a negative. Exploitation. Who’s being exploited? 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.” Shaft helped to change the attitudes in Hollywood that had resulted in so few Black actors in leading roles.
Shaft was a hit across the board – not only with the Black audience. Richard said of the movies: “What we were doing was a good, old Saturday afternoon shoot ’em up.” The soul soundtrack also give the film a boost. Singer/songwriter Isaac Hayes, who died in 2008 aged 65, said the theme song, was “like the shot heard round the world”.
Richard returned to the lead role in sequels Shaft’s Big Score in 1972 and Shaft in Africa in 1973. That same year, he played the savvy detective in US television series Shaft which lasted only seven episodes. Throughout his 50-plus year acting career, appeared in several other notable films, including 1978 movie Escape to Athena with Telly Savalas and Roger Moore.
With Samuel L. Jackson in Shaft (Paramount Pictures)He appeared in 1974 disaster movie “Earthquake alongside Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. The following year, Richard was in Man Friday alongside Peter O’Toole. Richard was also in Se7en in 1995. He also made his mark with roles in TV shows such as Magnum P.I, Desperate Housewives, Roots, and The Love Boat.
He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy. In 1995, Richard received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. The next year he appeared in movie Original Gangstas alongside other Blaxpoitation stars such as Pam Grier. Richard went on to reprise his most famous role in 2000 sequel Shaft – a revival that starred Jackson as John Shaft’s nephew.
They teamed up again in another sequel in 2019. Richard had two children with his first wife who he married in 1963. They divorced a decade later before he dated actress and former tennis player Cathy Lee Crosby. Richard married Karen Ciernia in 1980 and they had three children before divorcing in 1998. Richard is survived by five children – four daughters, Kelli, Nicole, Taylor, Morgan, and one son, John.
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