The Tragic Death Of Director Melvin Van Peebles
No one left a mark on the music and entertainment industry quite like writer-actor Melvin Van Peebles, the pioneering director behind the 1970s classic films "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" and "Watermelon Man." Sadly, the icon and father of actor-director Mario Van Peebles died at age 89 on September 21. His death was announced by his family, The Criterion Collection, and Janus Films in a statement on The Criterion Collection's official Twitter account, which confirmed Melvin died "at home with family" by his side. A cause of death has not been released as of this writing.
Reflecting on the Chicago native's legacy as a giant of Black cinema, Melvin's son, Mario, said in a statement via the Criterion Collection, "Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth?" He continued, "We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer's mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty, and interconnectivity of all people."
Like Mario, countless others paid tribute to the movie pioneer once the news of his death made headlines. Actor David Alan Grier took to Twitter to commemorate Melvin's life, calling the late star a "lion, the true revolutionary, an artistic gangsta, [and a] cultural disrupter who forever changed the game." For more on the incredible legacy Melvin left behind, keep reading.
Inside the world of "many Melvins"
Melvin Van Peebles paved the way for so many Black directors and actors in Hollywood, having been considered by his peers as the "godfather of modern Black cinema," per The Hollywood Reporter. As a statement on The Criterion Collection's Twitter read, Melvin's "work continues to be essential," and his legacy will be posthumously honored through upcoming projects. It also credited Melvin for his "unparalleled career distinguished by relentless innovation, boundless curiosity, and spiritual empathy."
Aside from his iconic work in the 1970s, Van Pebbles earned a total of 11 producing credits, 12 composing credits, 17 directing credits, 18 writing credits, and 44 acting credits throughout his career since the 1950s, per his IMDb page. Speaking with Bomb in January 2015, the heavyweight said his life motto was "just tryin' to get s**t done."
Of course, Melvin was more than just his work and had many layers. Mario Van Peebles recalled to Under the Radar how his father "curled up under a table" the day before he was to run a marathon, admitting he was "scared." Mario said of the incident, "He demystified being a filmmaker: he would laugh, he would fail, he would succeed. He admitted to having multiple Melvins. There's the Melvin that would curl up under a table and be scared, and wouldn't run. There's a revolutionary Melvin that would whoop your a**. There was a loving Melvin who would spend a lot of time trying to help you with a script."