What a tremendous loss. He was only 51 years old. He was the first African-American to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar for Boyz n the Hood. He is also, to date, the youngest person to ever be nominated Best Director. He was only 23 years old. Astonishing.
My friend Odie Henderson’s emotional tribute over on Rogerebert.com is the one to read. Odie was the man for the job. Please go read his piece: John Singleton 1968-2019.
The contributors at Ebert also put together a tribute post, where each one us shared our thoughts about this singular artist, and what his work meant to us. I wrote about one small scene in Boyz n the Hood, which has stayed with me all these years. Breaking Barriers: Goodbye to John Singleton.
