Richard Roundtree, best known for playing John Shaft in the ground-breaking 1971 movie “Shaft,” has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Roundtree has had a long and successful career, leaving a lasting impression on the film business as well as a significant fortune. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that net worth statistics might alter over time owing to a variety of variables, including new initiatives and investments. Let’s explore Richard Roundtree’s path to notoriety and monetary success.
Richard Roundtree Net Worth
American actor and former model Richard Roundtree has a $2 million dollar net worth. The part of John Shaft in the 1971 film “Shaft,” for which Richard Roundtree was nominated for a Golden Globe, made him famous and earned him the title “the first black action hero.”
Richard has more than 150 acting credits to his name, including roles in the films “Earthquake” (1974), “City Heat” (1984), “Maniac Cop” (1988), “Se7en” (1995), “Antitrust” (2001), “Corky Romano” (2001), “Brick” (2005), “Speed Racer” (2008), and “What Men Want” (2019), as well as the television series “Outlaws” (1986–1987), “Generations” (19 Along with his roles as Paul Patterson Sr. in the BET series “Being Mary Jane” (2013–2019), Roundtree also provided the voice of the game’s title character in 1998’s “Akuji the Heartless.”
Awards and Nominations
Roundtree received a nomination for a Golden Globe in 1972 for Most Promising Newcomer – Male for the movie “Shaft.” For the “Shaft” series, he was given a Lifetime Achievement award at the MTV Movie Awards in 1994.
He was also given a Legacy Award by the African-American Film Critics Association in 2011. Richard has received two NAACP Image Award nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for “413 Hope St.” in 1998 and Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for “Shaft” in 1971.
He was nominated for a “Soap Opera Digest” Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor: Daytime in 1991 for the television series “Generations,” and in 2010 for the online series “Diary of a Single Mom” he received an Indie Series Award nomination for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor. The New Mexico Film Critics gave Roundtree a Glenn Strange Honorary Award in 2021.
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Richard Roundtree Biography
Known as “the first black action hero” for his depiction of private eye John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and its four sequels, which were released between 1972 and 2019, Richard Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. Roundtree was nominated for the 1972 Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor for his work in the original movie.
John Roundtree and Kathryn Watkins welcomed him into the world on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York. Roundtree graduated from New Rochelle High School in 1961.
Roundtree participated on the school’s unbeaten, top-ranked football squad during his time in high school. Roundtree attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, after graduating from high school. In 1963, Roundtree left college to start his acting career.
Richard Roundtree’s Personal Life and Death
Five children and two divorces later, Roundtree was married twice. On November 27, 1963, he wed Mary Jane Grant, becoming his first wife. Before getting divorced in December 1973, Roundtree and Grant had two kids together.
Shortly after, he began dating television personality and actress Cathy Lee Crosby. In September 1980, Roundtree wed Karen M. Ciernia; the two eventually had three kids. In 1998, Roundtree and Ciernia were divorced.
After receiving a 1993 breast cancer diagnosis, Roundtree underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. At the age of 81, Roundtree passed away from pancreatic cancer on October 24, 2023, at his Los Angeles home.
Richard Roundtree Career
Around 1963, Roundtree started his professional career. When Roundtree was discovered by Eunice W. Johnson, she started modeling at the Ebony Fashion Fair. Roundtree started modeling for items like Johnson items Duke hair oil and Salem cigarettes after his success with the Fashion Fair.
Roundtree became a member of the Negro Ensemble Company in 1967. In the company’s production of The Great White Hope, he played boxing star Jack Johnson in his first performance. According to J. E. Franklin, he performed in Shauneille Perry’s Off-Off-Broadway production of her play Mau Mau Room, which was performed at St. Mark’s Playhouse in 1969.
Roundtree played the detective John Shaft in the action flicks Shaft (1971) and its sequels, Shaft’s Big Score! (1972), and Shaft in Africa (1973), which made up the bulk of his early 1970s blaxploitation filmography. In the 1981 film Inchon, Roundtree co-starred with Ben Gazzara and Laurence Olivier.
He portrayed Dr. Daniel Reubens on Generations from 1989 to 1991 and the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television drama Roots. In the 1984 film City Heat, he costarred with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds as another private eye.
Although Roundtree was active throughout the 1990s, many of his films did not find an audience, but he was more successful in stage productions. Alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie Usher, who plays John Shaft II and John Shaft III, respectively, in the 2019 sequel Shaft, Roundtree reprised his 2000 film character John Shaft in the comedy What Men Want.
While conceding that Roundtree had lied about being Jackson’s Shaft’s uncle in the 2000 film, this time Roundtree’s character was referred to as Jackson’s father. In 2019, he also had a role in the film Family Reunion.
