Richard Roundtree, trailblazing 'Shaft' star who established the Black action hero as big box office, dies of pancreatic cancer at 81

Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81. Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Los…

#richardroundtree #shaft #patrickmcminn #africanamerican #newrochelle #johnshaft #gordonparks #hollywood #isaachayes #anacademyaward