Iconic 'Shaft' Star Richard Roundtree Passes Away at 81

Richard Roundtree, the actor who played the iconic role of John Shaft in the 1971 film "Shaft," has passed away at the age of 81. Roundtree's portrayal of the first Black action hero in the blaxploitation genre made him a movie star and redefined African American masculinity in the movies. He continued to have a successful career in both film and television for over four decades. Roundtree's cause of death was pancreatic cancer.