Richard Roundtree, the actor who played the iconic private detective John Shaft in the 1971 crime-action blaxploitation thriller Shaft, has passed away at the age of 81.
Roundtree was a model-turned-actor who elevated the ability to look good in leather to an art form and was known as the first black action hero.
He received a Golden Globe nomination for his depiction of John Shaft.
According to his manager Patrick McMinn, the actor died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon with his family by his side after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
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His death has been mourned by many in the entertainment industry, and his work and career have been described as a turning point for African-American leading men in film.
Before his demise, Roundtree featured in movies like Earthquake (1974), Body Of Influence (1993), Maniac Cop (1988), Se7en (1995), George Of The Jungle (1997) and Brick (2005), amongst others.
