Tragedy befell Hollywood -- and the community as a whole – today, as it lost one of its greatest, most impactful creative voices. Producer, director, and writer John Singleton has passed away.
According to reports, the 51-year-old suffered a stroke on April 17. He was apparently returning home to LA from Costa Rica when he began having medical complications on the plane. Upon landing, he managed to check himself into Cedar Sinai Hospital where he was placed in ICU. At first, reports surfaced that his stroke was mild and a statement released by his family had an optimistic tone.
“We ask that privacy be given to him and our family at this time and appreciate all of the prayers that have been pouring in from his fans, friends and colleagues,” the statement read.
In spite of the positivity, Singleton’s condition grew progressively worse and by Friday night, April 27, he lay unresponsive in a coma.
Stars of Singleton’s hood classic “Baby Boy,” Taraji P. Henson and Tyrese, came to see him in the hospital on Saturday, posting about the experience on social media.
“Visited you today. Me and @tyrese prayed so hard over you[,]” Henson wrote. “You heard my voice and jumped up. I HAVE HOPE AND FAITH BECAUSE I KNOW THAT #GODIS. Keep praying EVERYBODY for our beloved @johnsingleton.”
Earlier today, it was reported that Singleton was going to be taken off life sport. Hours later, his death was reported, bringing a sad, early ending to a Singleton’s life.
Singleton has one of the most respected catalogs in all of Tinseltown. His story has served as a beacon of light for all aspiring filmmakers, especially young, Black filmmakers.
Singleton was a native of South Central, LA. In 1990, while fresh out of USC film school, he managed to get his film “Boyz N The Hood” greenlit by Columbia Pictures. At a budget just shy of seven million dollars, the movie went into production later that year and was released on July 2, 1991. “Boyz” turned out to be an authentic, heart stopping, on-screen depiction of the crisis young Black men were -- and still are -- going through. The cast, led by Cuba Gooding Jr., became Hollywood heavyweights. Amongst others, the film featured Angela Bassett, Lawrence Fishburne, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut and, of course, a scene-stealing acting debut from Ice Cube. The film went on to make close to $60 million during its theatrical run, as it was not just cherished in the “Hood,” but crossed over to the mainstream thanks to masterful storytelling and acting. Audiences fell in love with the characters, and experienced pure heartbreak when Chestnut’s character Ricky was brutally murdered in an alleyway. “Boyz” wasn’t just a west coast story, and it wasn’t just a Black story; it was a human story that resonated universally.
Thanks to “Boyz,” Singleton, at 24, became the youngest director and first Black director to be nominated for an Academy Award. He was also nominated for Best Screenplay.
Over the next decade plus, Singleton put together a run of critical and financially lauded box office gems. He also made it his business to introduce new Black actors to the world, and gave roles to hip-hop community wordsmiths such as Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Andre 3000, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
Shakur was particularly electrifying, starring opposite Janet Jackson in 1993’s “Poetic Justice.” That movie and 1995’s “Higher Learning” solidified Singleton as a bonafide Hollywood star and one of films most unabashed, unapologetic voices. He followed with “Rosewood,” “Shaft,” “Baby Boy,” “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Four Brothers,” and producing “Hustle & Flow.”
A decade later, Singleton turned his attention to television, directing “Empire.” In 2016, he directed an episode of the acclaimed “American Crime Story: The People V O.J. Simpson.” In 2016, Singleton released perhaps his greatest television accomplishment in FX’s “Snowfall,” a period piece that dives in deep to the outbreak of the crack epidemic in 1980s California. The series, which is set to enter its third season this year, has garnered adulation from critics and fans alike. And in what might prove to be his last living accomplishment, in 2017, Singleton was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for “LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later.”
Singleton leaves behind five children legion of fans and a generation of filmmakers he’s influenced.
