PHOTOSDirector John Singleton Dead At Age 51 — Take A Look At His Most Iconic Films
April 30 2019, Updated 3:19 p.m. ET
Oscar-nominated writer and director John Singleton has died at the age of 51. He was admitted to the ICU on April 17 after suffering a stroke. Shortly after the stroke, he fell into a coma and was ultimately taken off of life support on Monday, April 29. His family released a statement after his passing and said, "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the loss of our beloved father, son and friend. he was a prolific, ground-breaking director who changed the game and opened doors in Hollywood." Celebrate his life in pictures as we relive his best films.
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The South Central Los Angeles native made his directorial debut with the 1991 film Boyz N the Hood. John was nominated for Oscars for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He made history as the first African-American and the youngest person to do so at the age of 23. Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut and Cuba Gooding Jr. and Regina King made their early acting debuts in the drama. He went on to work with Ice Cube and Regina King again in the 1995 film Higher Learning.
John wrote and directed the Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur-led romantic drama Poetic Justice in 1993.
Christian Bale and Samuel L. Jackson starred in John's cult hit Shaft in 2000.
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John showed off his producing chops and became a triple threat when we wrote, directed and produced coming-of-age hood flick Baby Boy. The 2001 film starred Tyrese Gibson and Snoop Dogg and was originally set to star Tupac. Tyrese took over the role after the rapper's death in 1996.
Tyrese would later team up with John again for his films Four Brothers and the late Paul Walker action flick 2 Fast 2 Furious in 2003 and 2005.
Taylor Lautner starred as a high school student in the action-thriller Abduction. The 2011 movie was directed by John and also starred Lily Collins.
But the father-of-five's talents were not just limited to the big screen. John ventured out into television and directed episodes of hit shows like Billions, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Empire.
