Melvin Van Peebles, groundbreaking filmmaker, actor and novelist, dies at 89

The Godfather of Black Cinema has died.

Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking filmmaker best known for writing, co-producing, scoring, editing and starring in the 1971 film “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” died Tuesday night at his home in Manhattan. He was 89.

His family, The Criterion Collection and Janus Films confirmed his death in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

“In an unparalleled career distinguished by relentless innovation, boundless curiosity and spiritual empathy, Melvin Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape through his films, novels, plays and music,” the statement read. “His work continues to be essential and is being celebrated at the New York Film Festival this weekend with a 50th anniversary screening of his landmark film ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song’; a Criterion Collection box set, Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films, next week; and a revival of his play ‘Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,’ slated for a return to Broadway next year.”

Son Mario Van Peebles, who followed in his father’s footsteps, directing films such as “New Jack City,” praised his father’s vision.

“Dad knew that Black images matter,” Mario said in a statement. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? 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.”

A true Renaissance man, Van Peebles — who influenced a younger generation of Black filmmakers including Spike Lee and John Singleton — was a novelist, playwright, songwriter, musician and painter.

Van Peebles directed the 1970 social comedy “Watermelon Man,” a commercial success about a white bigot who transforms into a Black man, but declined a three-picture contract from Columbia pictures to pursue his own path.

He followed that with 1971′s “Sweetback,” which was made in 19 days for a reported $500,000 and is widely considered to be the first movie in the Blaxploitation genre.

The film, about a poor Black man fleeing from the police, became an instant hit, raking in more than $15 million at the box office. With a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby, Van Peebles raised his own financing for the 97-minute drama, considered the highest-grossing independent film in history at the time.

Van Peebles also directed a 1973 film adaptation of “Don’t Play Us Cheap!” and the 1989 action comedy “Identity Crisis,” which starred his son Mario.

He also appeared with Mario in “Posse,” the 1993 Western about an African-American soldiers’ mutiny starring Big Daddy Kane, Blair Underwood, Tiny Lister, Billy Zane and Stephen Baldwin. Melvin recorded a new song, “Cruel Jim Crow”, for the film— his first music recording in 20 years.

In 1995, his novel about the growth of the Black Panther Party was adapted into the film “Panther,” helmed by Mario.

Van Peebles also broke ground on Broadway. His 1971 musical about Black urban life, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” played one month at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre before moving to the Ambassador Theater in November and running through July 1972.

Directed by Gilbert Moses with music, lyrics and book by Van Peebles, the show — which included Bill Duke, Garrett Morris, Phylicia Rashad, Ted Lange and Roger Robinson among its cast — received Tony Award nominations for best book and best original score in 1972. Van Peebles won a Drama Desk award for outstanding book of a musical.

Other theater credits include 1972′s “Don’t Play Us Cheap!” (which also started its run while “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death”), 1980′s “Reggae” (Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Broadway debut) and 1982′s “Waltz of the Stork.”

Van Peebles won a Daytime Emmy and a Humanitas Prize in 1987 for writing an episode of a CBS Schoolbreak Special, “The Day They Came to Arrest the Books.” He also had an acting stint on the soap opera “All My Children” in 2008.

According to IMDB, his last acting role was the film short “Pile On!” which is in post production.

Born in 1932 the son of a tailor, the Chicago native graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1953 and then served in the Air Force. After his discharge, he worked as a portrait painter in Mexico, then as a cable car grip man in San Francisco.

Besides Mario, he leaves a son, Max. His daughter Megan died in 2006.