R.I.P. Richard Roundtree: ‘Shaft’ And ‘Roots’ Star Dead At 81

Richard Roundtree, best known for starring in the 1971 classic Shaft, has died at the age of 81 after battling cancer.

His manager, Patrick McMinn, confirmed his death in a statement to The Associated Press, saying, “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.”

Roundtree passed away in his Los Angeles home on Tuesday (Oct. 24) after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, after which he underwent a double mastectomy.

The actor is considered by many to be one of the first Black action movie stars of the pop culture canon, thanks to his iconic role as the titular private eye in Shaft. He later starred in two sequel films before reprising his role in the 2000 revival, Shaft, in which Samuel L. Jackson played his character’s nephew, and again in 2019. Roundtree also starred in the short-lived television adaptation, which lasted for seven episodes on CBS.

Jackson paid tribute to the actor on X with a still image of the two of them starring in the 2019 Shaft revival. “The passing of Richard Roundtree is a real blow,” Jackson wrote. “Loved being around him, learning, working, laughing & feeling Blessed to have an idol live up to who I expected him to be!!”

His Being Mary Jane co-star Gabrielle Union also penned a touching message to the late actor on X, saying that working with him on the BET drama “was a dream.”

“He was ALWAYS the coolest man in the room with the BEST vibes & ppl would literally run over to come see him,” she wrote. “He was simply the best & we all loved him.”

Abbott Elementary actor Sheryl Lee Ralph also wrote that she “use[d] to dream” about meeting Roundtree one day when she was a teenager. When she did finally meet him, she wrote that he was a “wonderful human being.”

Roundtree was very vocal about his journey after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993.

“For a long time I never talked about the cancer,” he told People in 2000. “Nobody ever knew I was even in the hospital. But I tell everyone now. I feel that it’s very important that people who are recognizable in the universe, at whatever level, say that they’ve gone through this and it’s okay.”

He continued, “It makes it easier for others who may be going through the same thing. When I tell other men, the reaction is, ’Really?’ They’re shocked. But I’m not embarrassed.”

Roundtree’s decades-long career spanned television and film, with appearances in classics like Murder, She Wrote and Roots, as well as Grey’s Anatomy and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The actor also appeared in Se7en, George of the Jungle, amongst many others. He most recently appeared in the Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin-led comedy Moving On in 2022.