Director John Singleton dies after being ‘taken off life support’

 

Oscar-nominated director John Singleton, best known for the South Los Angeles drama “Boyz N The Hood” passed away Monday afternoon after being taken off life support at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Singleton’s family announced earlier Monday that they have made the “agonizing decision” to remove him from life support. He died at the age of 51.

John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends. We want to thank the amazing doctors at Cedars-Sinai hospital for their expert care and kindness and we again want to thank all of John’s fans, friends, and colleagues for all of the love and support they showed him during this difficult time.”

(According to a statement released by the family’s publicist.)

Singleton suffered from a stroke earlier this month at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he had gone complaining of leg pain.

Singleton was known for a number of famous movies such as “Poetic Justice”, “Higher Learning”, “2 Fast 2 Furious”, and the 2000 remake of “Shaft”. He grew up in South Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California. He also produced the A&E documentary “L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later” and co-created the FX series “Snowfall”, about the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in LA.

It was Singleton’s directorial debut with “Boyz N The Hood”, which he also wrote the screenplay, that defined his career. He received Oscar Nominations for best director and best original screenplay. Singleton was also the first African-American ever nominated for the best-directed Oscar and also the youngest nominee ever in that category.

John grew up in South Central L.A., with a love for cinema that showed itself early on. He went on to become one of the most lauded graduates of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Within months of graduating, John returned back to South Central to shoot his debut feature, ‘Boyz N The Hood”. The movie, which was unusually shot in sequence, masterfully captured a story of friendship, youth and the peril of hard clothes in a community married by gang violence.”

 

The family mentioned that Singleton also took pride in providing opportunities to new talent including Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Taraji P. Henson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Terrence Howard.

Like many African-Americans, Singleton quietly struggled with hypertension. More than 40% of African-American men and women have high blood pressure, which also develops earlier in life and is usually more severe.

His family wants to share the message with all to please recognize the symptoms by visiting Heart.org

Singleton leaves behind his parents, Shelia Ward and Danny Singleton; and his children Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis and Seven.

The family stated that details about his memorial services will be provided at a later date.

 

Source – Fox5 News DC