Richard Roundtree

Richard Arnold Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and four of its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973),^[1][2] its 2000 sequel^[3][4] and its 2019 sequel,^[2] as well as the eponymous television series (1973–1974).^[3] He was also known for featuring in several TV series, including Roots, Generations, and Desperate Housewives.^[1][2]

Richard Roundtree
Publicity photo, 1973
Born	Richard Arnold Roundtree (1942-07-09)July 9, 1942 New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Died	October 24, 2023(2023-10-24) (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Southern Illinois University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–2023
Notable work	John Shaft – Shaft
Spouses	Mary Jane Grant ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1973)​ Karen M. Ciernia ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1998)​
Children	5

Considered as "the first black action hero",^[3][5] Roundtree was credited with having an impact on the rise of African American leading actors in Hollywood projects, thanks to his successful performances in the genre.^[3][4][6] His portrayal of Shaft as a bold, confident, and charismatic figure also influenced cinematic depictions of black men and black masculinity, a contrast to black men in films prior to Shaft having often been portrayed as mild-mannered or servile.^[6]

Early life and education

Richard Arnold Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, to John Roundtree and Kathryn Watkins.^[1] Roundtree attended New Rochelle High School, where he graduated in 1961.^[7] He subsequently attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois,^[8] but eventually dropped out of college in 1963, in order to begin his acting career.^[7]

Career

Roundtree started his professional career around 1963, as he began working as a model at the Ebony Fashion Fair after being scouted by Eunice W. Johnson;^[7] he then began modeling in advertisements for products such as Johnson Products' Duke hair grease^[9] and Salem cigarettes.^[10] In 1967, Roundtree joined the Negro Ensemble Company: he then went on to play his first theatrical role by portraying boxer Jack Johnson in the company's production of The Great White Hope.^[7] According to J. E. Franklin, he acted in the Off-Off-Broadway production of her play Mau Mau Room, by the Negro Ensemble Company Workshop Festival,^[11] at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1969, directed by Shauneille Perry.^[12]

Roundtree playing John Shaft in the CBS-TV television series (1973)

Roundtree made his first big-screen appearance by playing a minor role in the film What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?, a 1970 American hidden-camera style reality film directed by Candid Camera creator Allen Funt.^[2]

In the following years, he became a leading man in early 1970s films, and gained widespread popularity through his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the action movie Shaft (1971) and its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973);^[2] he also played the same role in the eponymous television series, aired by CBS between 1973 and 1974.^[3] In 1981, he appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Ben Gazzara in the epic war film Inchon, directed by Terence Young.^[2][13] In 1984, he starred again as a private detective, Diehl Swift, in the buddy-crime comedy movie City Heat, acting alongside Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds.^[14] On television, he played the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television mini-series Roots, and then starred as Dr. Daniel Reubens in the soap opera Generations from 1989 to 1991.^[2] Although Roundtree worked throughout the entirety of the 1990s, many of his films from that era were not well-received publicly;^[4][15][16] however, he found success in several stage plays.^[15][16]

During that same period of time, Roundtree kept featuring in TV series:^[1][2] on September 19, 1991, he appeared in the episode "Ashes to Ashes", from the second season of Beverly Hills, 90210.^[17] In 1995, he acted in David Fincher's critically-acclaimed movie Seven;^[2][4] in 2000, he starred again as John Shaft in a new, eponymous sequel of the original 1971 film, with Samuel L. Jackson playing the title character.^[3] In 1997, he appeared in the comedy movie George of the Jungle;^[18] around the same year, he played a leading role as Phil Thomas in the Fox ensemble drama, 413 Hope St;^[18] in 1999, he portrayed Booker T. Washington in the 1999 television movie Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.^[19] He served as a voice actor for the title character from the PlayStation game Akuji the Heartless, which was first released in 1999.^[20][21]

In 2004, Roundtree guest-starred in several episodes of the first season of Desperate Housewives as an amoral private detective;^[2][18] in 2005, he played the assistant vice principal of a high school in the neo-noir mystery film Brick.^[22]

Roundtree in 2007

Starting from the same year, Roundtree appeared in the television series The Closer as retired colonel D. B. Walter; in 2006, he starred in the science fiction drama series Heroes as Charles Deveaux, the terminally ill father of main character Simone Deveaux (Tawny Cypress).^[2] He then appeared as Eddie Sutton's father-in-law in several episodes of family drama series Lincoln Heights,^[a] before playing a supporting role in the 2008 film Speed Racer, a live-action adaptation of the eponymous Japanese manga.^[23] During the same year, he also appeared in the TV series Knight Rider as the father of FBI agent Carrie Ravai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier).^[24] Starting from 2013, he co-starred as the father of lead character Mary Jane Paul (Gabrielle Union) in the drama series Being Mary Jane, aired on BET.^[24][25]

In 2019, Roundtree co-starred in the comedy film What Men Want,^[13] before once again returning to the role of John Shaft in Shaft, a new sequel to the 2000 film, opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie T. Usher, who portrayed John Shaft II and John Shaft III, respectively.^[2] Starting from the same year, Roundtree also had a recurring role on Family Reunion.^[26]

Roundtree's final film to be released in his lifetime was Moving On (2023) with Jane Fonda. The last film released was Thelma (2024).

Personal life, health problems, and death

Roundtree was married and divorced twice and had five children. He married Mary Jane Grant in 1963;^[2] the couple had two children before divorcing in 1973.^[2][27] He dated actress and TV personality Cathy Lee Crosby shortly thereafter.^[28] Roundtree later married Karen M. Ciernia in 1980;^[27][29] they had three children together before divorcing in 1998.^[27]

In 1993, Roundtree was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.^[30]

Roundtree died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Los Angeles on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81.^[1][2][31]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1970	What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?	Interracial Couple		[32][33]
1971	Shaft	John Shaft		[2]
1972	Embassy	Richard "Dick" Shannon		[18][34]
	Shaft's Big Score!	John Shaft		[2]
1973	Charley One-Eye	The Black Man		[35][36]
	Shaft in Africa	John Shaft		[2]
1974	Earthquake	Miles Quade		[18]
1975	Man Friday	Friday		[18]
	Diamonds	Archie		[18]
1979	Escape to Athena	Nat Judson		[18]
	Portrait of a Hitman	"Coco" Morrell		[37]
	Game for Vultures	Gideon Marunga		[38]
	Day of the Assassin	Fessler		[39]
1980	Gypsy Angels	Dr. Carlson		[40]
1981	Inchon	Sergeant Augustus Henderson		[2]
	An Eye for an Eye	Captain Stevens		[41]
1982	Q	Sgt. Powell	Also known as Q – The Winged Serpent	[42][43]
	One Down, Two to Go	Ralph		[44]
1983	Young Warriors	Sergeant John Austin		[45][46]
	The Big Score	Gordon		[47]
1984	Killpoint	Agent Bill Bryant		[48][49]
	City Heat	Dehl Swift		[14][50]
1986	Opposing Force	Stafford	Also known as Hell Camp	[51]
	Jocks	Chip Williams		[52][53]
1988	Maniac Cop	Commissioner Pike		[54]
	Party Line	Captain Barnes		[55]
	Angel III: The Final Chapter	Lieutenant Doniger		[56]
1989	Miami Cops	Gamble		[57]
	Getting Even	Dundee		[58]
	Night Visitor	Captain Crane		[59]
	Crack House	Lieutenant Johnson		[60]
	The Banker	Lloyd		[61]
1990	Bad Jim	July		[62]
1991	A Time to Die	Captain Ralph Phipps		[63]
1992	Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight	Samuel Stark		[64]
1993	Body of Influence	Harry Reams	Direct-to-video	[65]
	Sins of the Night	Les		[66]
	Deadly Rivals	Agent Peterson		[67]
	Amityville: A New Generation	Pauli	Direct-to-video	[68]
	Mind Twister	Frank Webb		[69]
1995	Ballistic	Harold		[70]
	Se7en	District Attorney Martin Talbot		[2]
	Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored	Cleve		[2]
	Theodore Rex	Commissioner Lynch		[71]
1996	Original Gangstas	"Slick"		[72]
1997	George of the Jungle	Kwame		[18]
	Steel	Uncle Joe		[73]
2000	Shaft	Uncle John Shaft		[74]
2001	Antitrust	Lyle Barton		[75]
	Hawaiian Gardens	M.O.		[76]
	Corky Romano	Howard Shuster		[77]
2002	Capone's Boys	"Boom-Boom"	Also known as Al's Lads	[78]
	Boat Trip	Malcolm		[79]
2003	Men Cry in the Dark	Derrick's father	Direct-to-DVD	[80]
2004	Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon	Tahsi		[81]
2005	Brick	Assistant Vice President Trueman		[82]
2006	Wild Seven	Lee Marvin / Cleetus Woods		[83][84]
2007	All the Days Before Tomorrow	El Doctor		[85]
	Vegas Vampires	Rick Apping		[55]
2008	Speed Racer	Ben Burns		[86]
2009	Set Apart	J.T.		[87]
2010	The Confidant	Claude		[88]
2012	The Trial of Ben Barry	Ben Barry	Short film	[89]
	This Bitter Earth	Grady		[90]
2015	Collar	Reverend Alonzo Sparks		[91]
2018	Duke	J.T.		[92]
2019	What Men Want	Skip		[18][93]
	Shaft	John Shaft I		[94][95]
2020	Haunting of the Mary Celeste	Tulls		[18]
2022	Moving On	Ralph		[96]
2024	Thelma	Ben	Posthumous release	[97]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1972	Parachute to Paradise	—	Television film	[98]
1972–1976	The Hollywood Squares	Himself (Panelist)	Recurring role (4 episodes)	[99]
1973	Firehouse	Shelly Forsythe	Television film	[100]
1973–1974	Shaft	John Shaft	Series regular (7 episodes)	[101]
1974	The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast	Himself	Episode: "Telly Savalas"	[102]
1976	Freedom Is	—	Television special; voice role	[103]
1977	Roots	Sam Bennett	Television miniseries; Episode: "Part IV"	[104]
1980	The Love Boat	Dave Wilbur	2 episodes	[18]
	Miss Universe Pageant	Himself (Judge)	Television special
1981	CHiPs	Sergeant Aikens	Episode: "Sharks"	[18]
1983	Magnum, P.I.	Peter Jordan	Episode: "Two Birds of a Feather"	[18]
	Masquerade	Willy "Mean Willy" Walters	Episode: "Pilot"	[105]
	Just an Overnight Guest	Matt	Television short	[106]
1984	The Baron and the Kid	'Frosty'	Television film	[107]
1985	A.D.	Serpenius	Television miniseries (5 episodes)	[18]
	Hollywood Beat	Don Julian	Episode: "Double Exposure"
1986	The Fifth Missile	Commander Frederick Bryce	Television film	[108]
1986	Ebony/Jet Showcase	Himself	1 episode (October 24)	[109]
1986–1987	Outlaws	Isaiah "Ice" McAdams	Series regular (12 episodes)	[18]
1987	The New Hollywood Squares	Himself (Panelist)	Episode: "03.23.1987"
1988	ABC Afterschool Specials	Jason Ruigh	Episode: "Daddy Can't Read"	[108]
	Cadets	Sergeant Matt Gideon	Television film	[108]
	Murder, She Wrote	Major Kevin Cooper	Episode: "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel"	[110]
1989	A Different World	Clinton Reese	2 episodes: "Great Expectations", "Answered Prayers"	[18]
	Amen	Sergeant Burke	2 episodes: "Thelma and the D.I.", "Sergeant in Arms"	[110]
	Beauty and the Beast	Cleon Manning	Recurring role (3 episodes)	[111]
1989–1991	Generations	Dr. Daniel Reubens	Recurring role (6 episodes)	[18]
1990	21 Jump Street	Ben Halley	Episode: "La Bizca"	[111]
	MacGyver	R.T. Hines	Episode: "Tough Boys"	[111]
1990–1996	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Dr. Mumford / Reverend Gordon Sims	2 episodes: "Clubba Hubba" (1990)", "Hare Today" (1996)	[18]
1991	The Young Riders	Calvin	Episode: "Kansas"	[112]
	Beverly Hills, 90210	Robinson Ashe Jr.	Episode: "Ashes to Ashes"	[18]
1991–1994	Roc	Russell Emerson	Recurring role (4 episodes)	[113]
1992	Hearts Are Wild	Xavier Burns	"Episode: #1.8"	[114]
	Christmas in Connecticut	Prescott	Television film	[108]
	L.A. Law	Judge Ira Menday	Episode: "Love on the Rox"	[115]
1992–1994	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Sergeant / Chester Cooper	2 episodes: "Miracle in Oaktown" (1992), "Hangin' with Mrs. Cooper" (1994)	[18]
1993	Bonanza: The Return	Jacob Briscoe	Television film	[108]
	Moscacieca	Gray
1994	Black Heart	Rodney "Rod"		[111]
	Shadows of Desire	"Dunc"		[116]
	Renegade	Gene Collins	Episode: "Thrill Kill"	[113]
1995	Bonanza: Under Attack	Jacob	Television film	[108][117]
	The Wayans Bros.	Dr. Saunders	Episode: "ER"	[111]
	Dream On	Dr. Charles	Episode: "Little Orphan Eddie"
1996	Touched by an Angel	Murray	Episode: "Rock 'n' Roll Dad"	[111]
	Buddies	Henry Carlisle	Series regular (14 episodes)	[18]
1997	Any Place But Home	Gil Oberman	Television film	[108]
	Profiler	Detective James Henegar	Episode: "Power Corrupts"	[111]
1997–98	413 Hope St.	Phil Thomas	Series regular (10 episodes)	[18]
1998	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Jim "Barracuda Jim" Barnes	Episode: "The Fight"	[113]
1999	Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years	Booker T. Washington	Television film	[108][118]
	Rescue 77	Captain Durfee	Series regular (8 episodes)	[18][119]
	Linc's	Jake	Episode: "Real Time"	[120]
2000–2001	Soul Food	Hardy Lester	Recurring role (6 episodes)	[18][118]
2001	Resurrection Blvd.	Nate Khane	2 episodes: "Anisedad", "La Gran Pelea"	[108]
2002	Joe and Max	Jack Blackburn	Television film	[108]
2002–2003	As the World Turns	Oliver Travers	—	[118]
2003	1-800-Missing	Sam Haslett	Episode: "Father Figure"	[121]
2003–2004	Alias	Brill	2 episodes: "Breaking Point" (2003), "Blood Ties" (2004)	[18]
2004–2005	Desperate Housewives	Mr. Shaw	Recurring role (5 episodes)	[18]
2005	The Closer	Colonel D.B. Walter	Episode: "Show Yourself"	[111]
	Painkiller Jane	Colonel Watts	Television film	[108]
2006	Blade: The Series	Robert Brooks	Episode: "Sacrifice"
	Grey's Anatomy	Donald Burke	Episode: "I Am a Tree"	[111]
	Close to Home	Cyrus Cater	Episode: "Prodigal Son"	[111]
2006–2007	Heroes	Charles Deveaux	Recurring role (6 episodes)	[18]
2007	Final Approach	Gary Markash	Television film	[122][123]
	Point of Entry	Detective Miles Porter		[108]
2007–2009	Lincoln Heights	Coleman Bradshaw	Recurring role (3 episodes)	[18]
2008	Ladies of the House	Stan	Television film	[124]
2009	Knight Rider	Lawrence Rival	Episode: "Day Turns into Knight"	[125]
2009–2011	Diary of a Single Mom	Lou Bailey	Recurring role (18 episodes)	[126]
2009	Meet the Browns	Frank	Episode: "Meet the Anniversary"	[113]
2011	The Mentalist	Floyd Benton	Episode: "Bloodsport"	[111]
2012	Private Practice	Raymond McCray	Episode: "The Next Episode"	[18]
2013–2019	Being Mary Jane	Paul Patterson Sr.	Recurring role (33 episodes)	[18]
2015	Chicago Fire	Wallace Boden Sr.	Recurring role (4 episodes)	[18]
	The Player	Judge Samuel Letts	2 episodes: "The Norseman", "A House Is Not a Home"	[18]
2017–2018	Star	Charles Floyd	Recurring role (5 episodes)	[18]
2018	Lethal Weapon	Don Bennett	Episode: "A Whole Lotta Trouble"	[127]
2019–2022	Family Reunion	Jebediah McKellen	Recurring role (22 episodes )	[128]
2022	Cherish the Day	Mandeville "MV" St. James	Main role (season 2)	[18]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1998	Akuji the Heartless	Akuji	Voice role	[129][130]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Playwright	Venue	Notes	Ref(s)
1969	Mau Mau Room	—	J. E. Franklin	St. Mark's Playhouse		[11][12]
1976	Guys and Dolls	Sky Masterson	Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows	The Broadway Theatre		[118][131]
1977	Purlie Victorious	Purlie	Ossie Davis	Tiffany's Attic		[132][133]
2007	Whatever She Wants	Theodore Wolf	Je'Caryous Johnson	Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium	Recorded version released direct-to-DVD	[134]

Discography

• The Man from Shaft (MGM Records 1972)

Awards and nominations

Association	Year	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref
African-American Film Critics Association	2011	Legacy Award	—	Won	[135][136][137][138][139]
Golden Globe Awards	1972	Most Promising Newcomer – Male	Shaft	Nominated
Indie Series Awards	2010	Best Performance by a Supporting Actor	Diary of a Single Mom	Nominated
MTV Movie & TV Awards	1994	Lifetime Achievement Award	Shaft (film series)	Won
NAACP Image Awards	1971	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Shaft	Nominated
	1998	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	413 Hope St.	Nominated