'Shaft' actor Richard Roundtree dies aged 81

Manager Patrick Minns said the actor died from pancreatic cancer at home in Los Angeles.His career "served as a turning point for African American leading men in film" and his affect on the industry could not be understated, he said.

Roundtree took on dramatic roles dealing with race relations in America and played alongside actors such as Peter O'Toole and Laurence Olivier.

He shot to fame with the 1971 Blaxploitation movie Shaft about a private detective in the Harlem, New York.

Roundtree reprised the leather-jacket-wearing, revolver-toting leading man role in a number of sequels and a short-lived TV series.

The smooth soul soundtrack by Isaac Hayes is synonymous with Shaft's own brand of cool.

Isaac Hayes III expressed his family's sadness in hearing news of the icon's death saying his "legendary role as Shaft, transcended the screen, defining an era".

Roundtree also had a role in the groundbreaking television slavery drama Roots in 1977 and other prominent projects of the era, playing motorcycle daredevil Miles in 1974's Earthquake.

Among his more poignant films was 1996's Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored, the story a tight-knit Black community confronting the racism of post-war Mississippi.Roundtree worked regularly until the end, with 159 acting credits to his name plus three upcoming projects yet to be released, according to IMDB.com.

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He was married twice and is survived by four daughters - Nicole, Tayler, Morgan and Kelli Roundtree - and his son, James, Variety said.

with Australian Associated Press