What was Richard Roundtree's Net Worth?
Richard Roundtree was an American actor and former model who had a net worth of $2 million at the time of his death. Richard died on October 24, 2023 at the age of 81.
Richard Roundtree was best known for his Golden Globe-nominated performance as John Shaft in the 1971 film "Shaft," a role that led to him being dubbed "the first black action hero." Richard had more than 150 acting credits to his name, including the films "Earthquake" (1974), "City Heat" (1984), "Maniac Cop" (1988), "Se7en" (1995), "Antitrust" (2001) "Corky Romano" (2001), "Brick" (2005), "Speed Racer" (2008), and "What Men Want" (2019) and the television series "Outlaws" (1986–1987), "Generations" (1989–1991), "Buddies" (1996), "413 Hope St." (1997–1998), "Rescue 77" (1999), "Soul Food" (2000–2001), "Desperate Housewives" (2004–2005), "Heroes" (2006–2007), and "Family Reunion" (2019—2022). Roundtree also played Paul Patterson Sr. on the BET series "Being Mary Jane" (2013–2019), and he voiced the title character in the 1998 video game "Akuji the Heartless."
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Richard Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York. He is the son of Kathryn and John Roundtree, and he graduated from New Rochelle High School in 1961. As a high school student, Richard was a member of New Rochelle High's undefeated football team, which was nationally ranked. After graduation, Roundtree enrolled at Southern Illinois University, but he left in 1963 to launch his career.
(Photo by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage)
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In the early '60s, Richard was discovered by modeling scout Eunice W. Johnson and started modeling in the Ebony Fashion Fair. He later modeled for products such as Salem cigarettes and Duke hair grease. In 1967, Roundtree became a member of the Negro Ensemble Company, and his first role was boxer Jack Johnson in "The Great White Hope." In 1969, he appeared in a production of J. E. Franklin's "Mau Mau Room" at the Negro Ensemble Company Workshop Festival. Richard made his big screen debut in 1971's "Shaft," and he reprised the role of private detective John Shaft in 1972's "Shaft's Big Score!" and 1973's "Shaft in Africa" as well as the CBS series "Shaft" (1973–1974). He also appeared in the 2000 and 2019 sequels (both titled "Shaft"), which starred Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft II. In the first decade of his acting career, Roundtree appeared in the films "Embassy" (1972), "Charley-One-Eye" (1973), "Earthquake" (1974), "Man Friday" (1975), "Diamonds" (1975), "Escape to Athena" (1979), "Portrait of a Hitman" (1979), "Game for Vultures" (1979), and "Days of the Assassin" (1979) and played Sam Bennett in the Emmy-winning miniseries "Roots" (1977).
Richard guest-starred on "The Love Boat" (1980), "CHiPs" (1981), "Magnum, P.I." (1983), "Murder, She Wrote" (1988), "A Different World" (1989), and "Beauty and the Beast" (1989), and he played Isaiah 'Ice' McAdams on "Outlaws" (1986–1987) and had a recurring role as Dr. Daniels Reubens on the soap opera "Generations" (1989–1991). Richard appeared in the films "Gypsy Angels" (1980), "Inchon" (1981), "An Eye for an Eye" (1981), "Q" (1982), "One Down, Two to Go" (1982), "The Big Score" (1983), "Maniac Cop" (1988), "Getting Even" (1989), and "Night Visitors" (1989), and he co-starred with Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and Madeline Kahn in 1984's "City Heat." In the '90s, Roundtree guest-starred on "21 Jump Street" (1990), "MacGyver" (1990), "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990; 1996), "Roc" (1991–1994), "L.A. Law" (1992), "The Wayans Bros." (1995), "Touched by an Angel" (1996), and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (1998) and appeared in the films "Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight" (1992), "Deadly Rivals" (1993), "Amityville: A New Generation" (1993), "Se7en" (1995), "Once Upon a Time… When We Were Colored" (1995), "George of the Jungle" (1997), and "Steel" (1997).
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Richard married Mary Jane Grant on November 27, 1963, and they welcomed two children before divorcing in late 1973. He later dated Cathy Lee Crosby, an actress/television personality, and he wed Karen M. Ciernia in September 1980. Roundtree and Ciernia divorced in 1998, and they have three children together. In 1993, Richard was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in his right breast. He told "USA Today" in 2001, "When I got the news, I was shocked. I thought, 'I couldn't possibly have breast cancer. Men don't get this.'" Roundtree received chemotherapy and radiation treatments and underwent a double mastectomy. He initially kept his diagnosis a secret, and he explained, "No insurance company would insure me if they found out. And in order to work on a film, you need the stamp of approval from an insurance company. So unfortunately I had to keep it a secret." Richard later became a spokesman for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Know Your Score men's health care initiative.
Awards and Nominations
In 1972, Roundtree earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer – Male for "Shaft." In 1994, he received a Lifetime Achievement award at the MTV Movie Awards for the "Shaft" series, and in 2011, the African-American Film Critics Association honored him with a Legacy Award. Richard has earned two NAACP Image Award nominations, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for "Shaft" in 1971 and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for "413 Hope St." in 1998. In 1991, he received a "Soap Opera Digest" Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor: Daytime for "Generations," and he earned an Indie Series Award nomination for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor for the web series "Diary of a Single Mom" in 2010. In 2021, Roundtree received a Glenn Strange Honorary Award from the New Mexico Film Critics.
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In 2002, Roundtree paid $470,000 for a 2,768 square foot home in Grass Valley, California. The home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
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