Melvin Van Peebles, the influential filmmaker, playwright and musician whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s, has died at age 89.
The Associated Press
Sometimes called the “godfather of modern Black cinema,” the multitalented Van Peebles wrote numerous books and plays, and recorded several albums — playing multiple instruments and delivering rap-style lyrics. He later became a successful options trader on the stock market. “I could have called it ‘The Ballad of the Indomitable Sweetback.’ But I wanted the core audience, the target audience, to know it’s for them,” he told The Associated Press in 2003. “So I said ‘Ba-ad Asssss,’ like you really say it.”
Many of Hollywood’s versions were exaggerated crime dramas, replete with pimps and drug dealers, which drew heavy criticism in both the white and Black press. After his initial success, Van Peebles was bombarded with directing offers, but he chose to maintain his independence.
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