Richard Roundtree
Roundtree is best known for his role in 1971’s Shaft. He played the role of a black detective as well as its two sequels – Shaft’s Big Score and Shaft in Africa.
At 76, Roundtree featured in a 2019 remake of his famous Shaft character once again.
He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993. In an essay for Essence in 2019 Roundtree said: “While I was taking a shower in Costa Rica I felt this lump. I knew it wasn’t ordinary, so I finished work about a week later and had my doctor check it out.”
“He said it’s nothing to worry about but let me stick a needle in it anyway. Three days later I received the we-need-to-talk call that immediately sent up red flags for me like crazy. When he sat me down and told me I had cancer so many things went through my mind but the first was, “Wait, did he just say I had breast cancer? That word scared the beejeezus out of me! I couldn’t relate and I thought he was questioning my manhood because women die from this, not men. How could I possibly have that?”
