Richard Roundtree

Richard Arnold Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, to John Roundtree and Kathryn Watkins. He subsequently attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, but eventually dropped out of college in 1963, in order to begin his acting career. ==Career==

Roundtree started his professional career around 1963, as he began working as a model at the Ebony Fashion Fair after being scouted by Eunice W. Johnson; and Salem cigarettes. In 1967, Roundtree joined the Negro Ensemble Company: he then went on to play his first theatrical role by portraying boxer Jack Johnson in the company's production of The Great White Hope. at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1969, directed by Shauneille Perry. in the CBS-TV television series (1973) Roundtree made his first big-screen appearance by playing a minor role in the film What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?, a 1970 American hidden-camera style reality film directed by Candid Camera creator Allen Funt. In 1984, he starred again as a private detective, Diehl Swift, in the buddy-crime comedy movie City Heat, acting alongside Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. On television, he played the slave Sam Bennett in the 1977 television mini-series Roots, and then starred as Dr. Daniel Reubens in the soap opera Generations from 1989 to 1991. During that same period of time, Roundtree kept featuring in TV series: In 1995, he acted in David Fincher's critically-acclaimed movie Seven; In 1997, he appeared in the comedy movie George of the Jungle; around the same year, he played a leading role as Phil Thomas in the Fox ensemble drama, 413 Hope St; He served as a voice actor for the title character from the PlayStation game Akuji the Heartless, which was first released in 1999. In 2004, Roundtree guest-starred in several episodes of the first season of Desperate Housewives as an amoral private detective; Starting from the same year, Roundtree appeared in the television series The Closer as retired colonel D. B. Walter; in 2006, he starred in the science fiction drama series Heroes as Charles Deveaux, the terminally ill father of main character Simone Deveaux (Tawny Cypress). During the same year, he also appeared in the TV series Knight Rider as the father of FBI agent Carrie Ravai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier). Starting from 2013, he co-starred as the father of lead character Mary Jane Paul (Gabrielle Union) in the drama series Being Mary Jane, aired on BET. In 2019, Roundtree co-starred in the comedy film What Men Want, Roundtree's final film to be released in his lifetime was Moving On (2023) with Jane Fonda. The last film released was Thelma (2024). ==Personal life, health problems, and death==

Roundtree was married and divorced twice and had five children. He married Mary Jane Grant in 1963; He dated actress and TV personality Cathy Lee Crosby shortly thereafter. Roundtree later married Karen M. Ciernia in 1980; they had three children together before divorcing in 1998. Roundtree died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Los Angeles on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81. He was cremated at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. His family hosted a memorial service for him at Saint Catherine African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Rochelle, New York on February 17, 2024. ==Filmography==

Film Television Video games Stage ==Discography==

• The Man from Shaft (MGM Records 1972) ==Awards and nominations==