Richard Roundtree

Richard Roundtree
Roundtree in a 1973 publicity photo
Born	(1942-07-09)July 9, 1942 New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Died	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	New Rochelle High School
Alma mater	Southern Illinois University
Occupation	Actor and singer
Years active	1963–2023
Notable work	John Shaft – Shaft (1971), Shaft's Big Score! (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), Shaft (2000), Shaft (2019)
Spouse(s)	Mary Jane Grant (m. 1963; div. 1973) Karen M. Ciernia (m. 1980; div. 1998)
Children	5

Richard Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor, noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2019. For his performance in the original film, Roundtree was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972.

Early life and education

Born July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, to John Roundtree and Kathryn Watkins, Roundtree attended New Rochelle High School; graduating in 1961. During high school, Roundtree played for the school's undefeated and nationally ranked football team. Following high school, Roundtree attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Roundtree dropped out of college in 1963 to begin his acting career.

Career

Roundtree began his professional career around 1963. Roundtree began modeling in the Ebony Fashion Fair after being scouted by Eunice W. Johnson. After his modeling success with the Fashion Fair, Roundtree began modeling for such products as Johnson Products' Duke hair grease and Salem cigarettes. In 1967, Roundtree joined the Negro Ensemble Company. His first role while a part of the company was portraying boxing legend Jack Johnson in the company's production of The Great White Hope. 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, at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1969, directed by Shauneille Perry.

Roundtree was a leading man in early 1970s blaxploitation films, his best-known role being detective John Shaft in the action movie, Shaft (1971) and its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973). Roundtree also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Ben Gazzara in Inchon (1981). On television, he played the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television series Roots and Dr. Daniel Reubens on Generations from 1989 to 1991. He played another private detective in 1984's City Heat opposite Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Although Roundtree worked throughout the 1990s, many of his films were not well-received, but he found success elsewhere in stage plays.

During that period, however, he reemerged on the small screen as a cultural icon. On September 19, 1991, Roundtree appeared in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 with Vivica A. Fox. The episode was "Ashes to Ashes", Roundtree playing Robinson Ashe Jr. Roundtree appeared in David Fincher's critically acclaimed 1995 movie Seven, and in the 2000 Shaft, again as John Shaft, with Samuel L. Jackson playing the title character, who is described as the original Shaft's nephew. Roundtree guest-starred in several episodes of the first season of Desperate Housewives as an amoral private detective. He also appeared in 1997's George of the Jungle and played a high-school vice-principal in the 2005 movie, Brick. His voice was utilized as the title character in the hit PlayStation game Akuji the Heartless, where Akuji must battle his way out of the depths of Hell at the bidding of the Baron.

Roundtree in 2007

In 1997–1998, Roundtree had a leading role as Phil Thomas in the short-lived Fox ensemble drama, 413 Hope St. He portrayed Booker T. Washington in the 1999 television movie Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.

Beginning in 2005, Roundtree appeared in the television series The Closer as Colonel D. B. Walter, U.S.M.C. (retired), the father of a sniper, and in Heroes as Simone's terminally ill father, Charles Deveaux. Next, Roundtree appeared as Eddie's father-in-law in episodes of Lincoln Heights. Roundtree then had a supporting role in the 2008 Speed Racer film as a racer-turned-commentator who is an icon and hero to Speed. He also appeared in the two-parter in Knight Rider (2008) as the father of FBI Agent Carrie Ravai, and co-starred as the father of the lead character on Being Mary Jane, which has aired on BET since 2013.

In 2019, Roundtree co-starred in the comedy film What Men Want, and returned to the role of John Shaft in Shaft, a sequel to the 2000 film, opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie Usher, who portray John Shaft II and John Shaft III, respectively. This time, Roundtree's character was described as Jackson's character's father, while acknowledging that Roundtree had pretended to be Jackson's Shaft's uncle in the 2000 movie. Starting in 2019, Roundtree had a recurring role on Family Reunion.

Personal life, health problems, and death

Roundtree was married and divorced twice and had five children. His first marriage was to Mary Jane Grant, whom he married on November 27, 1963. Roundtree and Grant had two children before divorcing in December 1973. He dated actress and TV personality Cathy Lee Crosby shortly thereafter. Roundtree later married Karen M. Ciernia in September 1980; together they had three children. Roundtree and Ciernia divorced in 1998. Roundtree was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.

Roundtree died of pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles home on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Shaft	John Shaft
1972	Embassy	Richard "Dick" Shannon
	Shaft's Big Score!	John Shaft
1973	Charley-One-Eye	The Black Man
	Shaft in Africa	John Shaft
1973	Firehouse	Shelly Forsythe
1974	Earthquake	Miles Quade
1975	Man Friday	Friday
	Diamonds	Archie
1979	Escape to Athena	Nat Judson
	Portrait of a Hitman	"Coco" Morrell
	Game for Vultures	Gideon Marunga
	Days of the Assassin	Fessler
1980	Gypsy Angels	Dr. Carlson
1981	Inchon	Sergeant Augustus Henderson
	An Eye for an Eye	Captain Stevens
1982	Q	Powell
	One Down, Two to Go	Ralph
1983	Young Warriors	Sergeant John Austin
	The Big Score	Gordon
1984	Killpoint	Agent Bill Bryant
	City Heat	Dehl Swift
1986	Opposing Force	Stafford
	Jocks	Chip Williams
1988	Maniac Cop	Commissioner Pike
	Party Line	Captain Barnes
	Angel III: The Final Chapter	Lieutenant Doniger
1989	Miami Cops	Gambie
	Getting Even	Dundee
	Night Visitors	Captain Crane
	Crack House	Lieutenant Johnson
	The Banker	Lloyd
1990	Bad Jim	July
1991	A Time to Die	Captain Ralph Phipps
1992	Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight	Samuel Stark
1993	Body of Influence	Harry Reams	Direct-to-video
	Sins of the Night	Les
	Deadly Rivals	Agent Peterson
	Amityville: A New Generation	Pauli	Direct-to-video
	Mind Twister	Frank Webb
1995	Ballistic	Harold
	Se7en	District Attorney Martin Talbot
	Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored	Cleve
	Theodore Rex	Commissioner Lynch
1996	Original Gangstas	"Slick"
1997	George of the Jungle	Kwame
	Steel	Uncle Joe
2000	Shaft	Uncle John Shaft
2001	Antitrust	Lyle Barton
	Shoot!	Unknown	Short film
	Hawaiian Gardens	M.O.
	Corky Romano	Howard Shuster
2002	Capone's Boys	"Boom-Boom"	Also known as Al's Lads
	Boat Trip	Felicia's Dad
2003	Men Cry in the Dark	Unknown	Direct-to-DVD
2004	Short Fuse: A Collection of Explosive Shorts	Unknown	Direct-to-DVD
	Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon	Tahsi
2005	Brick	Assistant Vice President Trueman
2006	Wild Seven	Lee Marvin / Cleetus Woods
2007	All the Days Before Tomorrow	El Doctor
	Vegas Vampires	Rick Apping
2008	Speed Racer	Ben Burns
2009	Set Apart	J.T.
2010	The Confidant	Claude
	Veil	Michael Draden	Short film
2011	Go Beyond the Lens	"Guess"	Short film
2012	The Trial of Ben Barry	Ben Barry	Short film
	This Bitter Earth	Grady
2014	Whatever She Wants	Theodore Wolf	Direct-to-DVD
2015	Collar	Reverend Alonzo Sparks
2016	Retreat!	Henshaw
2018	Duke	J.T.
2019	What Men Want	Skip
	Shaft	John Shaft I
2020	Haunting of the Mary Celeste	Tulls
2022	Moving On	Ralph
TBA	Thelma		Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Parachute to Paradise	Unknown	Television Movie
1972–1976	The Hollywood Squares	Himself (Panelist)	Recurring role (4 episodes)
1973	Firehouse	Shelly Forsythe	Television Movie
1973–1974	Shaft	John Shaft	Series regular (7 episodes)
1974	Comedy Roast	Himself	— "Telly Savalas"
1976	Freedom Is	Unknown (voice role)	Television Movie
1977	Roots	Sam Bennett	Television Miniseries — "Part IV"
1980	The Love Boat	Dave Wilbur	2 episodes
	Miss Universe Pageant	Himself (Judge)	Television Special
1981	CHiPs	Sergeant Aikens	— "Sharks"
1983	Magnum, P.I.	Peter Jordan	— "Two Birds of a Feather"
	Masquerade	Willy "Mean Willy" Walters	— "Pilot"
	Just an Overnight Guest	Matt	Television Short
1984	The Baron and the Kid	'Frosty'	Television Movie
1985	A.D.	Serpenius	Television Miniseries (5 episodes)
	Hollywood Beat	Don Julian	— "Double Exposure"
1986	The Fifth Missile	Commander Frederick Bryce	Television Movie
1986–1987	Outlaws	Isaiah "Ice" McAdams	Series regular (12 episodes)
1987	The New Hollywood Squares	Himself (Panelist)	— "03.23.1987"
1988	ABC Afterschool Specials	Jason Ruigh	— "Daddy Can't Read"
	Cadets	Sergeant Matt Gideon	Television Movie
	Murder, She Wrote	Major Kevin Cooper	— "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel"
1989	A Different World	Clinton Reese	2 episodes — "Great Expectations" — "Answered Prayers"
	Amen	Sergeant Burke	2 episodes — "Thelma and the D.I." — "Sergeant in Arms"
	Beauty and the Beast	Cleon Manning	Recurring role (3 episodes) — "Ceremony of Innocence" — "Though Lovers Be Lost..." — "Nevermore"
1989–1991	Generations	Dr. Daniels Reubens	Recurring role (6 episodes)
1990	21 Jump Street	Ben Halley	— "La Bizca"
	MacGyver	R.T. Hines	— "Tough Boys"
	Masquerade	Unknown	Television Movie
1990–1996	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Dr. Mumford / Reverend Gordon Sims	2 episodes — "Clubba Hubba" (1990) — "Hare Today" (1996)
1991	The Young Riders	Calvin	— "Kansas"
	Beverly Hills, 90210	Robinson Ashe Jr.	— "Ashes to Ashes"
1991–1994	Roc	Russell Emerson	Recurring role (4 episodes)
1992	Hearts Are Wild	Xavier Burns	— "Episode: #1.8"
	Christmas in Connecticut	Prescotf	Television Movie
	L.A. Law	Judge Ira Menday	— "Love on the Rox"
1992–1994	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Sergeant / Chester Cooper	2 episodes — "Miracle in Oaktown" (1992) — "Hangin' with Mrs. Cooper" (1994)
1993	Bonanza: The Return	Jacob Briscoe	Television Movie
	Moscacieca	Gray	Television Movie
1994	Black as the Heart	Rodney "Rod"	Television Movie
	Shadows of Desire	"Dunc"	Television Movie
	Renegade	Gene Collins	— "Thrill Kill"
1995	Bonanza: Under Attack	Jacob	Television Movie
	The Wayans Bros.	Dr. Saunders	— "ER"
	Dream On	Dr. Charles	— "Little Orphan Eddie"
1996	Touched by an Angel	Murray	— "Rock 'n' Roll Dad"
	Buddies	Henry Carlisle	Series regular (14 episodes)
1997	Any Place But Home	Gil Oberman	Television Movie
	Profiler	Detective James Henegar	— "Power Corrupts"
1997–98	413 Hope St.	Phil Thomas	Series regular (10 episodes)
1998	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Jim "Barracuda Jim" Barnes	— "The Fight"
1999	Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years	Booker T. Washington	Television Movie
	Rescue 77	Captain Durfee	Series regular (8 episodes)
	Linc's	Jake	— "Real Time"
2000–2001	Soul Food	Hardy Lester	Recurring role (6 episodes)
2001	Resurrection Blvd.	Nate Khane	2 episodes — "Anisedad" — "La Gran Pelea"
2002	Joe and Max	Jack Blackburn	Television Movie
2002–2003	As the World Turns	Oliver Travers	Unknown episodes
2003	1-800-Missing	Sam Haslett	— "Father Figure"
2003–2004	Alias	Brill	x2 episodes — "Breaking Point" (2003) — "Blood Ties" (2004)
2004–2005	Desperate Housewives	Mr. Shaw	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2005	The Closer	Colonel D.B. Walter	— "Show Yourself"
	Painkiller Jane	Colonel Watts	Television Movie
2006	Blade: The Series	Robert Brooks	— "Sacrifice"
	Grey's Anatomy	Donald Burke	— "I Am a Tree"
	Close to Home	Cyrus Cater	— "Prodigal Son"
2006–2007	Heroes	Charles Deveaux	Recurring role (6 episodes)
2007	Final Approach	Gary Markash	Television Movie
	Point of Entry	Detective Miles Porter	Television Movie
2007–2009	Lincoln Heights	Coleman Bradshaw	Recurring role (3 episodes)
2008	Ladies of the House	Stan	Television Movie
2009	Knight Rider	Lawrence Rival	— "Day Turns Into Knight"
2009–2011	Diary of a Single Mom	Lou Bailey	Recurring role (18 episodes)
2010	Meet the Browns	Frank	— "Meet the Anniversary"
2011	The Mentalist	Floyd Benton	— "Bloodsport"
2012	Private Practice	Raymond McCray	— The Next Episode"
2013–2019	Being Mary Jane	Paul Patterson Sr.	Recurring role (33 episodes)
2015	Chicago Fire	Wallace Boden Sr.	Recurring role (4 episodes)
	The Player	Judge Samuel Letts	2 episodes — "The Norseman" — "A House Is Not A Home"
2017–2018	Star	Charles Floyd	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2018	Lethal Weapon	Don Bennett	— "A Whole Lotta Trouble"
2019–2022	Family Reunion	Grandpa	Recurring role (14 episodes)
2022	Cherish the Day	Mandeville "MV" St. James	Main role (Season 2)

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Akuji the Heartless	Akuji (voice role)

Awards and nominations

Association	Year	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref
African-American Film Critics Association	2011	Legacy Award	N/A	Won
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
Soap Opera Digest Awards	1991	Outstanding Supporting Actor: Daytime	Generations	Nominated

External links

• Richard Roundtree at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Roundtree at the TCM Movie Database
• Richard Roundtree at AllMovie
• Richard Roundtree discography at Discogs
• Richard Roundtree at the Internet Off-Broadway Database