Director John Singleton Dead at 51 After Suffering a Stroke

Singleton, 51, a native of South Los Angeles, was nominated for an Oscar for his directing in his debut film “Boyz N the Hood,” which centered on three teenagers growing up amid violence in his home city. Singleton was in his early 20s and fresh out of film school when he directed the film. He was the first African-American and the youngest person ever to be nominated for the award.

He went on to direct more than 10 films and TV series, including the recent FX crime drama “Snowfall,” about the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. His most prominent films after his debut include “Poetic Justice” (1993), a romantic melodrama starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur, and “Rosewood” (1997), about a historical white mob massacre against a town of black residents in Florida.

Singleton has also directed episodes of “Empire,” “American Crime Story,” and “Billions.” In 1992, he directed a music video for Michael Jackson’s song “Remember the Time,” featuring Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson and Iman.