John Singleton dies at 51
The Boyz n the Hood director fell into a coma after suffering a major stroke on April 17.
UPDATE: John Singleton has now been pronounced dead at the age of 51, The Hollywood Reporter notes.
Singleton's family confirmed his death in a statement on Monday afternoon, shortly after relaying to news outlets that they would be taking him off of life support earlier today.
"John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends," the statement reads. "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."
April 29, 2019 - 4PM: John Singleton will be taken off of life support today (April 29) — two weeks after he suffered a major stroke while at Cedar-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, Deadline reports.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our beloved son, father and friend, John Daniel Singleton will be taken off of life support today,” the 51-year-old director's family said in a statement released on Monday. Read their words in full down below.
Singleton earned nominations for best director, and best original screenplay for his debut film Boyz n the Hood. He also directed Poetic Justice, which featured 2Pac and Janet Jackson, FX television series Snowfall and more.
It is with heavy hearts we announce that our beloved son, father and friend, John Daniel Singleton will be taken off of life support today. This was an agonizing decision, one that our family made, over a number of days, with the careful counsel of John’s doctors.
John Singleton is a prolific, ground-breaking director who changed the game and opened doors in Hollywood, a world that was just a few miles away, yet worlds away, from the neighborhood in which he grew up.
John grew up in South Central L.A with a love of cinema that showed itself early on. He went on to become one of the most lauded graduates of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Within months of graduating, John returned to South Central to shoot his debut feature, Boyz N the Hood. The movie, which was unusually shot in sequence, masterfully captured a story of friendship, youth and the peril of hard choices in a community marred by gang violence. The film earned special honors at its debut at Cannes and Singleton went onto become the youngest director and first African-American writer-director nominated for the Academy Award. Two decades later, the film was placed in the Library of Congress, a marker of its cultural and historical significance.
This post was updated on April 29, 2019 at 4:39 p.m.