Rest in Peace John Singleton
John Singleton was born on 6 January 1968 and died on 29 April 2019. He was an American producer, film director and screenwriter. He was most famous for producing the film titled Boys n the Hood in 1991. As a result of this film, he was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Director at a young age of 24 years. He became the youngest person to have ever been nominated for that award and the first African American in that case.
Singleton was a resident of South Los Angeles and most of his films were on urban setting. He produced movies such as Baby Boy (2001), Poetic Justice (1993) and Higher Learning (1995).
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John Singleton was also the director of Rosewood which was released in 1997. In 2000, he produced Shaft which was an action movie. This was quickly followed by Four Brothers in 2005. He is credited for co-creating Snowfall, a television crime drama series.
Singleton attended Blair High School followed by Pasadena City College as well as USC School of Cinematic Arts. In 1990, Singleton graduated from USC and while at that institution he was a member of Kappa Alpha.
Before joining film school, Singleton had considered pursuing a career in Computer Science. The program at USC was designed in a way to produce professional who would work in Hollywood as directors or writers. John was inspired by the work of Steven Spielberg as well as the Star Wars Film.
Boyz n the Hood (1991) was an inner city drama which propelled Singleton into the film production arena.
The United States Library of Congress labelled Boyz n the Hood (1991) the film as “culturally Significant” in 2002 and hence it was set aside for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Personal Life
John Singleton married Akosua Gyamama Busia, a Ghanaian actress, in 1996 and together they had a daughter. The two divorced in 1997.
John Singleton criticized film production companies in the United States for not allowing black people to be directors of black-themed films. He further argued that when creating films, we should not try to please everyone.
Death and legacy
Singleton suffered stroke on 17 April 2019 and was rushed to hospital where he was placed under the intensive care unit (ICU. He entered into a comma on April 25 and on April 29, Singleton was disconnected from life support and died at Ceders-Sinai Hospital aged 51 years old.
John is survived by his children Isis, Maasai, Justice, Hadar, Seven and Cleopatra as well as his mother Sheila Ward and father Danny Singleton.
Actor and rapper Ice Cube who worked closely with John Singleton in Hiigher Learning and Boyz n The Hood said, “There are no words to express how sad I am to lose my brother, friend & mentor. He loved [to] bring the black experience to the world.”
Barrack Obama condolences
Barack Obama remembered John Singleton for trailblazing in film production. He was responsible for creating opportunities for black filmmakers and showed Hollywood that there were important stories among the black people which needed to be told.
John Singleton is a director who did a lot for the minority filmmakers.
“His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth. He opened doors for filmmakers of color to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored,” said former President of the United States Barack Obama
A private funeral is planned to be held on 6 May 2019 in Los Angeles. Burial will happen at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills area.
