JOHN SINGLETON (1968 - 2019)

John Singleton, the first African-American nominated for a Best Director Oscar for his debut 1991 feature, "Boyz n The Hood" and the youngest person to have ever been nominated for the award at the age of twenty-four, passed away yesterday at the age of fifty-one after suffering from a massive stroke on April 17th. His vivid films brought to the big screen gritty realism and poignant stories involving African-Americans living in the inner city which exposed the danger and difficulties that confronted them, particularly for young black men. Singleton's work would help influence and inspire future African-American filmmakers to create films that would offer perspectives that go far beyond typical Hollywood fare.

A graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Singleton's early work focused on his experiences growing up in South Los Angeles with some of his characters based on people he knew in his neighborhood. "Boyz" tells the story of a divorced mother (Angela Bassett) fearing for the future of her young son, Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in his first starring role) living in Inglewood and decides to send him off to live with his no-nonsense father (Laurence Fishburne) in a Crenshaw neighborhood. We watch as Tre grows up hanging out with his friends and falls in love while gangs and violence eventually takes hold of the neighborhood. The film (which also earned Singleton an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay) was a critical and box-office hit and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2002.

Other highlights from Singleton's filmography includes "Poetic Justice" (1993) with Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur; "Higher Learning" (1995); the historical drama, "Rosewood" (1997); "Baby Boy" (2001); a 2000 remake of "Shaft" with Samuel L. Jackson; "2 Fast 2 Furious", a 2003 sequel to that action franchise and "Four Brothers" (2005).  Singleton certainly had an eye for talent and gave early major roles to now well-known actors like Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Regina King, Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson and rapper, Ice Cube. The latest project he had been working on was the television crime-drama series "Snowfall" which he had co-created and was in the process of filming the upcoming third season.

John Singleton was an important filmmaker that we lost way too soon who brought a bold, inventive vision to black cinema while helping to open doors and put a spotlight on other African-American talent.