Hollywood Mourns John Singleton, Director of 'Boyz N The Hood'

Ava DuVernay called Singleton, who died Monday, "a giant among us." Jordan Peele said he was "a true inspiration."
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Actor, filmmakers and others are paying tribute to John Singleton after the renowned director died on Monday at age 51.

The Los Angeles native is most famous for his 1991 directorial debut, “Boyz n the Hood,” earning critical acclaim for its depiction of South Central LA’s black community. At age 24, Singleton became the youngest and the first African American person to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar. He went on to direct “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Shaft” (2000) and “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003), among others.

Singleton’s death came hours after his family decided to take him off life support. He had been in a coma since an April 17 stroke.

During his career, Singleton worked to lift up other black filmmakers and actors, many of whom mourned his death on Monday. Here are some of the tributes:

John Landgraf, chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions, told HuffPost in a statement that the company is “heartbroken” over the death of Singleton, calling him “one of the most important filmmakers in the business.” Singleton helped create and write multiple shows on the network.

“We are honored and fortunate to have worked with John on The People v. O.J. Simpson and the drama series Snowfall, which he co-created and on which he is an executive producer and director,” Landgraf said.

He continued: “Today we lost an incredibly talented artist, leader, activist, partner and friend ― far too soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”

This story has been updated with additional tributes.

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