Film director John Singleton, who recently suffered a major stroke at a Los Angeles hospital, died this afternoon after being taken off life support, according to his family.
“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,” according to the statement released by a publicist for the family. “This was an agonizing decision, one that our family made, over a number of days, with the careful counsel of John’s doctors.”
According to various media reports, the 51-year-old Oscar-nominated director best known for helming 1991’s “Boyz in the Hood” suffered a stroke earlier this month at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he had gone in response to leg pain.
Singleton, who also directed “Poetic Justice,” “Higher Learning,” “2 Fast 2 Furious” and the 2000 remake of “Shaft,” grew up in South Los Angeles, attended USC and produced the A&E documentary “L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later.”
He also co-created the FX series “Snowfall,” about the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. Its third season is scheduled to begin later this year.
One of Singleton’s daughters last week challenged his mother’s claim that the filmmaker was in a coma. Cleopatra Singleton, 19, claimed in a sworn statement filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday that her father’s physicians are continuing to examine him to determine his condition, TMZ reported.
That claim, however, appeared to be trumped by today’s announcement that Singleton was being removed from life support.
“Like many African-Americans, Singleton quietly struggled with hypertension,” according to the family’s statement. “More than 40 percent of African-American men and women have high blood pressure, which also develops earlier in life and is usually more severe. His family wants to share the message with all to please recognize the symptoms by going to Heart.org.
“We are grateful to his fans, friends and colleagues for the outpouring of love and prayers during this incredibly difficult time. We want to thank all the doctors at Cedars Sinai for the impeccable care he received,” the statement continued. “John Daniel Singleton will be survived by his extraordinary mother, Sheila Ward, his father, Danny Singleton and his children Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis, and Seven.”
The Singleton family announced that details about memorial services will be provided at a later date.”
