Post by Johnny Zell

Remembering..The Legendary..Richard Roundtree , An Actor and Former Model. Roundtree is 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.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.On television, he played the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television series Roots and Dr. Daniel Reubens on Generations from 1989 to 1991. Considered "the first black action hero", 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. In early-1974, Roundtree was cast in the role of an Evel Knievel-type motorcycle daredevil in the disaster film Earthquake, a part which was originally written for Joe Namath. Hired after filming had already begun, the script was re-written to accommodate Roundtree in the part, alongside Gabriel Dell and Victoria Principal.