'A Giant Among Us': Tributes Pour In For Director John Singleton
HOLLYWOOD (CBLA) — Tributes continued to pour in on social media for groundbreaking director John Singleton, who died Monday after being taken off life support following a massive stroke.
Singleton, 51, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 12 days after suffering a devastating stroke. He was the first African American director to be nominated for an Oscar and the youngest ever Best Director nominee at the age of 24.
Singleton, who grew up in South LA, was a USC student in his 20s when he wrote the iconic film "Boyz in the Hood."
However, Singleton was remembered more fondly as a mentor and a director who helped launch the acting careers of fresh faces such as Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Taraji P. Henson, singer Janet Jackson and rapper Tupac Shakur.
Singleton introduced the world to black culture with his films and TV shows, which include the critically-acclaimed "Hustle & Flow" and recent FX series "Snowfall." He also directed the extravagant video for Michael Jackson's "Remember The Time" video, starring Eddie Murphy as an Egyptian king and supermodel Iman as the Egyptian queen Isis.
But moreover, Singleton was remembered as a mentor who always had a kind and encouraging word whose influence was felt throughout Hollywood.
Singleton is survived by his mother, Sheila Ward; his father, Danny Singleton; and his children Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis and Seven.
