My first memory of Richard Roundtree was seeing him in the TV series Shaft sometime in 1974 on Granada TV here in the UK. I thought, even in this sanitised version (I knew of no other at that point), he was the coolest thing on TV. I then realised there were some paperback novels on…
Category: Obituaries
Richard Roundtree dies aged 81
I woke up this morning to hear the very sad news of the passing of actor Richard Roundtree at the age of 81. Richard had recently suffered from pancreatic cancer, having survived breast cancer back in 1993. He will, of course, be forever remembered for his groundbreaking role as private detective John Shaft in Gordon…
Shaft co-screenwriter John D.F. Black dies aged 85
Sad news to hear of the death of John Donald Francis Black (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2018), who was a major contributor to the success of the original Shaft. Ernest Tidyman had adapted his own novel in a literal fashion for the original screenplay. Gordon Parks drafted in Black, a very experienced TV…
Shaft producer Joel Freeman dies aged 95
Sad to hear of the death of Joel Freeman on 21 January at the age of 95, producer of 1971’s Shaft. Other major productions he was involved in included The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Camelot, Finian’s Rainbow and Love at First Bite. He had been battling with lung cancer and Alzheimer’s. Hollywood Reporter have posted…
Joseph Mascolo (1929-2016)
In a year that has seen the loss of so many icons I had missed the death of Joseph Mascolo on 8 December 2016. Mascolo, who brought a sense of charisma and style to his portrayal of Gus Mascola in Shaft’s Big Score! Mascolo (born 13 March 1929) was of Italian descent, his parents having…
James Garner (1928 – 2014)
I was saddened to hear of the recent death of James Garner (on 19 July 2014 aged 86). I grew up watching Garner’s charismatic and charming performance as private eye Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files (1974-80). Garner was one of those actors who got by on the mere presence of his personality – although he was…