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'Boyz N The Hood' Filmmaker John Singleton Dead After Being Taken Off Life Support Following Stroke, Coma

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - John Singleton, the youngest director and first African-American writer-director nominated for the Academy Award, died Monday after being taken off life support, according to a spokesperson. He was 51.

The Oscar-nominated director of 1991's "Boyz N the Hood" was hospitalized in intensive care after suffering a stroke earlier this month.

He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following an announcement from Singleton's family that they had made the "agonizing decision" to remove him from life support.

In a statement released Monday morning, spokeswoman Shannon Barr said: "We are sad to relay that John Singleton has died. John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends," his family said in a statement. "We want to thank the amazing doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital for their expert care and kindness and we again want thank all of John's fans, friends and colleagues for all of the love and support they showed him during this difficult time."

Singleton, who also directed "Poetic Justice," "Higher Learning," "2 Fast 2 Furious" and the 2000 remake of "Shaft," grew up in South Los
Angeles, attended USC and produced the A&E documentary "L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later."

He was also the co-creator of the FX series "Snowfall," which depicted the dawn of the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. Its third season is scheduled to begin later this year.

Singleton is survived by his mother, Sheila Ward, his father Danny Singleton and his children Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis, and Seven.

John Singleton
John Singleton and attend a ceremony honoring Taraji P. Henson with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 28, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination for his debut feature, "Boyz N the Hood." The 1991 film about the lives of young men in South Central Los Angeles starred Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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