TEARZ N THE HOOD
SINGLETON, FIRST BLACK DIRECTOR NOMINATED FOR OSCAR, DIES AT 51
Filmmaker John Singleton, known for directing “Boyz n the Hood,” died Monday after being taken off life support following a stroke, his publicist said.
The 51-year-old director had been in a coma after suffering a stroke on April 17 while at a Los Angeles hospital for another health concern. He died peacefully and surrounded by friends, his family said in a statement shared by publicist, Shannon Barr, on Monday.
In an earlier statement, the family said it had made the “agonizing decision” to take him off life support after “careful counsel” with his doctors.
Singleton, who was also a screenwriter and producer, made history in 1992 when he became the first black director nominated for an Academy Award and, at 23, the youngest nominee in that category for the 1991 drama “Boyz n the Hood,” his directorial debut. The critically acclaimed film follows the lives of three teenage boys in Los Angeles and addresses questions of race, violence and relationships.
Singleton also directed ”Shaft” in 2000, “2 Fast 2 Furious” in 2003 and “Four Brothers” in 2005.
“John Singleton is a prolific, groundbreaking director who changed the game and opened doors in Hollywood, a world that was just a few miles away, yet worlds away, from the neighborhood in which he grew up,” his family’s statement reads.
Singleton, who had seven children, struggled with hypertension. But his condition had been disputed by family members in the past few days.
In court documents filed last week in Los Angeles County, his mother requested temporary conservatorship over his estate, claiming he was exhibiting “major impairment” and “lacks the capacity to give informed consent.”
“He is currently hospitalized in a coma and is unable to provide for his personal needs,” the document states.
But his daughter, Cleopatra Singleton, denied the account in her own court filings on Friday. She accused her grandmother, Shelia Ward, of lying about the filmmaker’s condition.
“My father is breathing on his own,” Cleopatra wrote. “He is only medically sedated to keep his blood pressure low and allow the vessels in his brain to heal.”
Singleton’s most recent work includes “Snowfall,” an ongoing FX drama series he co-created and produced. He also directed an episode of “Billions,” a drama series on Showtime.