Richard Roundtree (ex-Daniel, GENERATIONS) passed away at the age of 81 on October 24. The actor died after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Widely known for his roles in Shaft and ROOTS, the actor appeared on AS THE WORLD TURNS in 1956 and rejoined the show from 2002-03 as Oliver Travers. Lamman Rucker, who portrayed Roundtree’s on-screen son Marshall, paid tribute to the actor on Instagram, writing, “Richard Roundtree. As cool as they come. Salute. #richardrountree #shaft #rip” The actor originated the role of Dr. Daniel Reubens, who was the father of Vivica A. Fox’s Maya, on GENERATIONS in 1990. “GM Dawlings! My heart is sad this morning as late last night I learned that LEGEND Actor @officialrichardroundtree had passed. I had the blessing of working with Richard on alot of 1st in my acting career! He played my Dad on the soap opera #Generation’s TV show #90210BeverlyHills Mr Roundtree thank u for your AMAZING GIFTS!’ U will truly be missed as u were the 1st African American Action Star #SHAFT I’ll never forget the time u stood for ME when a director was being a jerk to me! I’ll miss your smile, jokes, laughs & hugs! REST EASY KING! U DID WELL! #Classic #LEGEND #LeadingMan #Actor #SuperStar #Blessed #Respect #RestInParadise #RestInPeace 🙏🏾🤴🏽😢🙏🏾,” the actress shared. Kin Shriner (Scott, GH), who starred alongside the actor in Angel III: The Final Chapter tweeted, “RIP Richard Roundtree he was cooler than even Shaft in person, I was lucky to make a movie and hang out as well with him! just sad goodnight.” Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942 in Rochester, NY. He briefly went to Southern Illinois University before dropping out to pursue a career in modeling. The actor is survived by his four daughters, Nicole, Taylor, Morgan and Kelli and his son, James.
