Richard Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, USA. He went to New Rochelle High School and graduated in 1961. In high school, he played football for a really good team.
After high school, he went to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, but he left college in 1963 to become an actor.
Richard Roundtree got into modeling when he was discovered by Eunice W. Johnson and worked for the Ebony Fashion Fair. He also modeled for products like Duke hair grease and Salem cigarettes.
Now, let’s talk about Richard Roundtree’s net worth and learn more about how much he was worth.
Richard Roundtree’s Net Worth
The actor Richard Roundtree died on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81. Patrick McMinn, his manager, disclosed to The Hollywood Reporter that he was at his Los Angeles residence.
In the 1971 crime action suspense film Shaft, which starred Roundtree as John Shaft, he became well-known. Due to his successful career, he amassed a fortune, and his net worth was $2 million.
Richard Roundtree Cause of Death and Obituary
Renowned actor Richard Roundtree, famous for his role in “Shaft” and for advancing black filmmaking, has died at 81. He passed away at his LA home, with pancreatic cancer being the cause, as stated by his manager, Patrick McMinn.
AB News also confirms Richard Roundtree’s Cause of Death on the internet:
Roundtree faced a health scare in 1993 when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer, a disease more common in women. Showing great resolve, he chose to have a double mastectomy after finding a lump on his chest during a filming project in Costa Rica.
He once shared a funny remark about his diagnosis, saying when the doctor told him he had breast cancer, he first only heard the word “cancer” and only realized the “breast” part later. He was in disbelief.
Besides his impressive acting career, Roundtree had a personal life filled with two marriages. He was married to Mary Jane Grant from 1963 to 1973, and then to Karen Michelle Ciernia in 1980, but they separated in 1998.
He leaves behind his daughters Kelli, Nicole, Tayler, and Morgan, and his son, John. Richard Roundtree’s cinematic work and his bravery during health issues will be honored and remembered fondly in his obituary.
Richard Roundtree Impressive Career
Richard Roundtree began his career in the early 1960s. In 1967, he joined a theater group called the Negro Ensemble Company. One of his first roles there was playing the famous boxer Jack Johnson in a play called The Great White Hope.
In 1969, he acted in another play called Mau Mau Room. This play was performed off-Broadway in New York City. Richard’s career took off in the early 1970s when he starred as detective John Shaft in the movie “Shaft” and its sequels.
He also appeared in a TV series called “Roots” in 1977 and another show called “Generations” from 1989 to 1991. In 1984, he played a private detective in a movie called “City Heat” with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds.
During the 1990s, his movie career slowed down, but he became a cultural icon through appearances on TV shows like “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Desperate Housewives.” He was in movies like “Seven” in 1995 and returned as John Shaft in the year 2000.
In 2019, he was in the comedy film “What Men Want” and reprised his role as John Shaft in “Shaft,” where he played Samuel L. Jackson’s character’s father. This was a sequel to the 2000 movie where he pretended to be Jackson’s character’s uncle. He also starred in the movie “Family Reunion” in 2019.
Richard Roundtree Awards and Nomination
In 1972, Richard Roundtree was nominated for a Golden Globe award because he did a great job in the movie “Shaft.” Then, in 1994, he got a special award at the MTV Movie Awards for all the “Shaft” movies he was in. In 2011, the African-American Film Critics Association also gave him an award for his contributions.
Richard had two nominations for the NAACP Image Awards. One was in 1971 for his role in “Shaft,” and the other was in 1998 for a TV show called “413 Hope St.” In 1991, he got a nomination for a “Soap Opera Digest” Award for his acting in a daytime soap opera called “Generations.”
He also got recognized for his performance in a web series called “Diary of a Single Mom” in 2010, earning a nomination for an Indie Series Award.
Finally, in 2021, he received an honorary award from the New Mexico Film Critics called the Glenn Strange Honorary Award. So, Richard Roundtree had a long and successful career with lots of awards and nominations.
Richard Roundtree’s Personal Life
Richard got married to Mary Jane Grant on November 27, 1963, and they had two children together. However, their marriage didn’t last, and they divorced in late 1973. After that, he dated an actress and TV personality named Cathy Lee Crosby. Then, in September 1980, he married Karen M. Ciernia, and they had three children.
Unfortunately, Richard faced a tough situation in 1993 when he found a lump in his right breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer. This surprised him because he thought men couldn’t get breast cancer.
He had to undergo treatments like chemotherapy and radiation and even had a double mastectomy. What made it more challenging was that he had to keep his diagnosis a secret because no insurance company would cover him if they knew. To work in movies, you need insurance, so he had no choice.
Later, he became a spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Know Your Score men’s healthcare initiative to raise awareness about breast cancer in men.
Richard Roundtree Age
Richard Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York. He had a very successful career in showbiz and lived until 2023 when he was 81 years old.
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How Many Kids Does Richard Roundtree Have?
Richard Roundtree had five children who were very important to him. In his first marriage to Mary Jane Grant, he had two daughters named Kelli and Nicole. Kelli Roundtree-Mileur, one of these daughters, became a jewelry designer and opened a store called CottingTree Beads where she shared her love for making beautiful jewelry with others.
Later on, after divorcing Mary Jane, Richard married Karen Michelle Ciernia, and they had three children: Taylor, Morgan, and John James. Each of these children followed their own path in life. Taylor Roundtree, for example, became really good at horse riding and even taught others how to jump horses.
