Richard Arnold Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor and model from New Rochelle, New York.
He was most famous for portraying Private Detective John Shaft in the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971) and all four of its sequels, Shaft's Big Score (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), and two by the same name released in 2000 and 2019, both alongside Samuel L. Jackson as his nephew, John Shaft II.
He died at the age of 81 from pancreatic cancer.
Filmography on TV Tropes:
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Film roles
- Shaft (1971) as John Shaft
- Earthquake (1973) as Miles
- Escape to Athena (1979) as Nat Judson
- An Eye for an Eye (1981) as Capt. Stevens
- Inchon (1981) as Sgt. Augustus Henderson
- Maniac Cop (1988) as Commissioner Pike
- Se7en (1995) as Talbot
- Theodore Rex (1995) as Commissioner Lynch
- Original Gangsta (1996) as Slick
- George of the Jungle (1997) as Kwame
- Steel (1997) as Uncle Joe
- Antitrust (2001) as Lyle Barton
- Corky Romano (2001) as Howard Shuster
- Boat Trip (2002) as Felicia's Dad
- Brick (2005) as Asst. VP Trueman
- Speed Racer (2008) as Ben Burns
Television roles
- Roots (1 episode, 1977) as Sam Bennett
- The Love Boat (2 episodes, 1980) as Dave Wilbur
- CHiPs (1 episode, 1981) as Sgt. Aikens
- Magnum, P.I. (1 episode, 1983) as Peter Jordan
- Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1988) as Maj. Kevin Cooper
- A Different World (3 episodes, 1989) as Clinton Reese
- Beauty and the Beast (3 episodes, 1989) as Cleon Manning
- 21 Jump Street (1 episode, 1990) as Ben Halley
- MacGyver (1 episode, 1990) as R.T. Hines
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (2 episodes, 1990–96) as Dr. Mumford/Rev. Gordon Sims
- The Young Riders (1 episode, 1991) as Calvin
- Beverly Hills, 90210 (1 episode, 1991) as Robinson Ashe Jr.
- Roc (4 episodes, 1991–94) as Russell Emerson
- L.A. Law (1 episode, 1992) as Judge Ira Menday)
- Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (2 episodes, 1992–94) as General/Chester Cooper
- The Wayans Bros. (1 episode, 1995) as Dr. Saunders
- Dream On (1 episode, 1995) a Dr. Charles
- Touched by an Angel (1 episode, 1996) as Murray
- Profiler (1 episode, 1997) as Det. James Henegar
- 413 Hope St. (10 episodes, 1997–98) as Phil Thomas
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1 episode, 1998) as "Barracuda" Jim Barnes
- 1-800-Missing (1 episode, 2003) as Sam Haslett
- Alias (2 episodes, 2003–04) as Brill
- Desperate Housewives (5 episodes, 2004–05) as Mr. Shaw
- The Closer (1 episode, 2005) as Col. D.B. Walter
- Painkiller Jane (TV movie, 2005) as Col. Watts
- Blade: The Series (1 episode, 2006) as Robert Brooks
- Grey's Anatomy (1 episode, 2006) as Donald Burke
- Close to Home (1 episode, 2006) as Cyrus Carter
- Heroes (6 episodes, 2006–07) as Charles Deveaux
- Lincoln Heights (3 episodes, 2007–09) as Coleman Bradshaw
- Meet the Browns (1 episode, 2010) as Jack
- The Mentalist (1 episode, 2011) as Floyd Benton
- Private Practice (1 episode, 2012) as Raymond McCray
- Being Mary Jane (33 episodes, 2013–19) as Paul Patterson Sr.
- Chicago Fire (4 episodes, 2015) as Wallace Boden Sr.
- The Player (2 episodes, 2015) as Judge Samuel Letts
- Lethal Weapon (1 episode, 2018) as Don Bennett
- Family Reunion (22 episodes, 2019–22) as Grandpa Jeb McKellan
Video game roles
- Akuji the Heartless (1998) as Akuji (voice)
- Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006) as Burt Campana/Oakley Drive-In Manager (voice)
