Director, screenwriter, and producer are just a mere three words to describe the prolific John Singleton. A native of South Los Angeles, Singleton was only 24-years-old when he directed the cult classic,Boyz N the Hood(1991). For the film, he was nominated for his very first Oscar for Best Director. becoming not only the first African American to receive the nomination for this category, but also the youngest. Singleton wrote the screenplay for Boyz N the Hood while he was a student at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
He graduated from USC in 1990, was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Also in 1991, Singleton directed the music video for Micheal Jackson’s hit single “Remember the Time”. The popular short film also included appearances from model/actress/entrepreneur Iman, actor/comedian Eddie Murphy, and basketball great/entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson. After the success of Boyz N the Hood, a plethora of of other cult classics followed including Poetic Justice (1993), Higher Learning (1995), Rosewood (1997) Shaft (2000), Baby Boy (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and Four Brothers (2005). In 2017 he co-created the popular crime drama Snowfall.
On April 17, 2019, Singleton suffered a massive stroke and was placed under intensive care. Soonafter, he fell into a coma and was soon placed life support. On Monday, April 29, 2019, Singleton’s family decided to remove his life support. Later that day, news broke that Singleton had passed away. He was 51.
Singleton leaves behind, a loving family which includes five children, devoted friends, loyal fans and a plethora of others whom he inspired. His genius will be missed.
