Bill Text: IL HR0511 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the passing of actor Richard Arnold Roundtree.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-01-16 - Resolution Adopted [HR0511 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0511-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of actor | ||||||
| 4 | Richard Arnold Roundtree, who passed away on October 24, 2023; | ||||||
| 5 | and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree was born to Kathryn (Watkins) | ||||||
| 7 | and John Roundtree in New Rochelle, New York on July 9, 1942; | ||||||
| 8 | he graduated from New Rochelle High School, where he played on | ||||||
| 9 | its nationally ranked football team; he attended Southern | ||||||
| 10 | Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) on a football scholarship | ||||||
| 11 | from 1961 to 1963; he married Mary Jane Grant in 1963, and they | ||||||
| 12 | had two children before divorcing in 1973; he later married | ||||||
| 13 | Karen M. Cierna in 1980, and they had three children before | ||||||
| 14 | divorcing in 1998; and
| ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree left SIU after signing as a | ||||||
| 16 | model for the Ebony Fashion Fair, touring 79 cities in 90 days; | ||||||
| 17 | following this opportunity, he returned to New York to pursue | ||||||
| 18 | acting, joining the Negro Ensemble Company in 1967; he | ||||||
| 19 | appeared in several Off-Broadway shows, including as | ||||||
| 20 | heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson in a production of | ||||||
| 21 | The Great White Hope; and
| ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree was best known for playing | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, a role | ||||||
| 2 | that many consider the first African American action hero; he | ||||||
| 3 | returned to play the character in two sequels, which premiered | ||||||
| 4 | in 1972 and 1973 respectively, and the similarly named TV | ||||||
| 5 | series from 1973 to 1974; he later returned to the movie | ||||||
| 6 | franchise for the 2019 remake, which featured Samuel L. | ||||||
| 7 | Jackson taking on the titular role; and
| ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, In addition to the Shaft franchise, Richard | ||||||
| 9 | Roundtree earned more than 100 credits across film and | ||||||
| 10 | television projects; he appeared in dozens of films, including | ||||||
| 11 | the 1974 disaster drama Earthquake, starring Charlton Heston, | ||||||
| 12 | Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, and Lorne Greene, and the 1984 | ||||||
| 13 | buddy-crime-comedy City Heat, working alongside Clint Eastwood | ||||||
| 14 | and Burt Reynolds; he made appearances in dozens of television | ||||||
| 15 | shows, including the miniseries Roots, The Love Boat, Magnum | ||||||
| 16 | P.I., Amen, A Different World, MacGyver, Beverly Hills 90210, | ||||||
| 17 | L.A. Law, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Touched by an Angel, | ||||||
| 18 | Desperate Housewives, The Closer, Grey's Anatomy, The | ||||||
| 19 | Mentalist, and Chicago Fire; more recently, he was a regular | ||||||
| 20 | cast member in BET's critically acclaimed series Being Mary | ||||||
| 21 | Jane from 2013 to 2019; and
| ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree became a staunch advocate and | ||||||
| 23 | vocal proponent of male breast cancer awareness after being | ||||||
| 24 | diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, having to undergo a | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | radical mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy to beat | ||||||
| 2 | the disease; he participated in countless benefits to help | ||||||
| 3 | fight cancer and was the recipient of the prestigious Jackie | ||||||
| 4 | Robinson Foundation Award for Excellence for his work in | ||||||
| 5 | cancer awareness; and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree received several nominations | ||||||
| 7 | and awards for his acting, including a 1972 Golden Globe Award | ||||||
| 8 | nomination for Most Promising Newcomer in the male category | ||||||
| 9 | for his role in the movie Shaft, a Lifetime Achievement Award | ||||||
| 10 | from MTV in 1994, and the Legacy Award from the | ||||||
| 11 | African-American Film Critics Association in 2011; he received | ||||||
| 12 | an honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from SIU in 2018; and
| ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree will be remembered for his | ||||||
| 14 | impact on film, pop culture, and cancer awareness; and
| ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Richard Roundtree is survived by his daughters, | ||||||
| 16 | Kelli, Nicole, Tayler, and Morgan, and his son, John; | ||||||
| 17 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 19 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 20 | we mourn the passing of Richard Arnold Roundtree and extend | ||||||
| 21 | our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who | ||||||
| 22 | knew and loved him; and be it further
| ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
