Melvin Van Peebles, Groundbreaking Filmmaker & Musician, Dies at 89

Melvin Van Peebles speaks during the sixth annual Queens World Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image on March 16, 2016 in New York City., the groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright and musician whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers long after, has died. He was 89.

“All the films about Black people up to now have been told through the eyes of the Anglo-Saxon majority in their rhythms and speech and pace,” Van Peebles told Newsweek in 1971, the year of the film’s release.. But I wanted the core audience, the target audience, to know it’s for them,” he told The Associated Press in 2003. “So I saidMade for around $500,000 , it grossed $14 million at the box office despite an X-rating, limited distribution and mixed critical reviews.

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. On Wednesday, a younger generation of Black filmmakers mourned Van Peebles’ death. Barry Jenkins, the “Moonlight” director, said on Twitter: “He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame.”

Van Peebles then got involved on Broadway, writing and producing several plays and musicals like the Tony-nominatedGreased LightningIn the 1980s, Van Peebles turned to Wall Street and options trading. He wrote a financial self-help guide entitledBorn Melvin Peebles in Chicago on Aug. 21, 1932, he would later add “Van” to his name. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1953 and joined the Air Force, serving as a navigator for three years.

F

Loved his work 😢

Rip to him

rest in peace

Rest In heaven

Rest In Power Beloved! You will never be forgotten ❤!

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