Director John Singleton Dies at 51

LOS ANGELES – Veteran film director John Singleton, known for his 1991 film “Boyz N the Hood,” and many others, died today after he was taken off life support following a massive stroke last week. He was 51.

Singleton was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on April 17 after he suffered a stroke and was in the intensive care unit when he slipped into a coma three days later. They said earlier today that he would be removed from life support.

He was best known for directing “Boyz n the Hood” for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director who at age 24, became the first African American and youngest person to have ever been nominated for that award. Singleton was a native of South Los Angeles, and many of his films, like “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Higher Learning” (1995), and “Baby Boy” (2001), focused on the black experience. He also directed the drama Rosewood (1997) and the action films Shaft (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and Four Brothers (2005). He co-created the television crime drama Snowfall.

After directing episodes of the critically acclaimed television shows “Empire” and “American Crime Story,” he served as an executive producer of the crime drama series “Rebel” for BET and co-created “Snowfall” for FX.

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