{"id":22423,"date":"2021-09-23T05:22:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T10:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22423"},"modified":"2021-09-23T05:22:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T10:22:47","slug":"melvin-van-peebles-trailblazing-director-and-godfather-of-modern-black-cinema-a-champion-of-global-african-film-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22423","title":{"rendered":"Melvin Van Peebles, trailblazing director and Godfather of modern Black cinema&#8217;, A champion OF GLOBAL AFRICAN FILM, has died"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"storytitle\">\n<h1>A Giant Of Black Cinema, Melvin Van Peebles Dies At 89<time datetime=\"2021-09-22T19:33:00-04:00\">\u00a0<span id=\"tt-originally-published\" class=\"tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"> <\/span> <\/time><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"storytext\" class=\"storytext storylocation linkLocation\">\n<div id=\"res1039891186\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\">\n<picture><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s400-c85.webp 400w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s600-c85.webp 600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s800-c85.webp 800w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s900-c85.webp 900w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1200-c85.webp 1200w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1600-c85.webp 1600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1800-c85.webp 1800w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" \/><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s400-c85.jpg 400w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s800-c85.jpg 800w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s900-c85.jpg 900w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1200-c85.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1600-c85.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1800-c85.jpg 1800w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/gettyimages-951618054_sq-de4a35a766447ca9d09149edd8d60d17cf0dc184-s1100-c50.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/> <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles at a 2018 film festival in Hollywood.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Influential director Melvin Van Peebles died on Tuesday night at home in Manhattan. The 89-year-old director was best known for his independent films <em>Watermelon Man<\/em> (1970) and <em>Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song <\/em>(1971).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He was also the father of Mario Van Peebles, with whom he wrote and directed the movie <em>Panther<\/em> in 1995. The elder Van Peebles told NPR that year he considered that film a history lesson for kids too young to remember the Panthers&#8217; community activism.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;But more than a history lesson, because history can tell a lot of stories,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This history lesson also encourages the young people to be active.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"res1039900394\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\">\n<p><strong><picture><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s400-c85.webp 400w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s600-c85.webp 600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s800-c85.webp 800w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s900-c85.webp 900w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1200-c85.webp 1200w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1600-c85.webp 1600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1800-c85.webp 1800w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" \/><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s400-c85.jpg 400w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s800-c85.jpg 800w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s900-c85.jpg 900w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1200-c85.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1600-c85.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1800-c85.jpg 1800w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/09\/22\/ap21265770250790_wide-ea1b600dc04badf3b5af2c764577e3a26f492795-s1100-c50.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/> <\/picture><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p><strong>Mario Van Peebles (left) and Melvin Van Peebles in 2018 in Los Angeles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles inspired a generation of young filmmakers to be active. His early movies were shot on tiny budgets \u2014 and shot through with provocative, politically charged humor. He played the main role in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bfi.org.uk\/films-tv-people\/4ce2b775be49c\"><em>Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/em><\/a>, but gave himself barely any lines. He was playing with stereotypes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/97300380\">he told NPR in 2008<\/a>, and standing them on their heads. And he defended his decision to cast his then-young son in a role that required a sex scene with an adult woman. &#8220;Business is business,&#8221; he told NPR&#8217;s Michel Martin. &#8220;What the heck? Didn&#8217;t seem to harm or hurt him a bit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"storytext\" class=\"storytext storylocation linkLocation\">\n<div id=\"res1039901829\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\"><strong><a id=\"featuredStackSquareImage998752004\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/05\/21\/998752004\/1971-marvin-gaye-whats-going-on-50th-black-music-revolt\" data-metrics=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;Story to Story&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;Click Internal Link&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/21\\\/998752004\\\/1971-marvin-gaye-whats-going-on-50th-black-music-revolt&quot;}\"><picture><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/05\/20\/gettyimages-153257807_sq-b693267c9b09ff08ecf058940718f746ac25c422-s300-c85.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/05\/20\/gettyimages-153257807_sq-b693267c9b09ff08ecf058940718f746ac25c422-s300-c85.jpg\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2021\/05\/20\/gettyimages-153257807_sq-b693267c9b09ff08ecf058940718f746ac25c422-s300-c85.jpg\" alt=\"What's Going On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marvin Gaye\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"box-Lead_too_short plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-lead_too_short\" role=\"presentation\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mbox-image\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"mbox-text\">\n<div class=\"mbox-text-span\"><strong><span class=\"date-container\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"infobox biography vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-above\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"fn\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/e\/e7\/Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\/220px-Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/e\/e7\/Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\/330px-Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/e\/e7\/Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\/440px-Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png 2x\" alt=\"Lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015.png\" width=\"220\" height=\"360\" data-file-width=\"2160\" data-file-height=\"3530\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"infobox-caption\"><strong>Van Peebles in December 2015<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\">\n<div class=\"nickname\"><strong>Melvin Peebles<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>August 21, 1932<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"birthplace\"><strong><a title=\"Chicago\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago\">Chicago<\/a>, <a title=\"Illinois\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illinois\">Illinois<\/a>, U.S.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Died<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>September 21, 2021 (aged\u00a089)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"deathplace\"><strong><a title=\"New York City\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_City\">New York City<\/a>, U.S.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Other\u00a0names<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data nickname\"><strong>Brer Soul, Block<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Occupation<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data role\">\n<div class=\"hlist hlist-separated\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Actor<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>director<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>screenwriter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>playwright<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>composer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Years\u00a0active<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>1955\u20132021<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><span class=\"nowrap\">Spouse(s)<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>Maria Marx<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Children<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Mario Van Peebles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mario_Van_Peebles\">Mario Van Peebles<\/a>,\u00a0Megan Van Peebles,\u00a0Max Van Peebles<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-37j5jr r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@Mel_VanPeebles<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22427\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mv-peebles.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mv-peebles.jpg 225w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mv-peebles-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 \u2013 September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist and composer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He was known for creating and starring in the film <i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a><\/i>. He was the father of actor and director <a title=\"Mario Van Peebles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mario_Van_Peebles\">Mario Van Peebles<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Early_life_and_education\" class=\"mw-headline\">Early life and education<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Born Melvin Peebles,<sup id=\"cite_ref-born_1-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> in <a title=\"Chicago\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago\">Chicago<\/a>, <a title=\"Illinois\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illinois\">Illinois<\/a>, his father was a tailor. In 1954, Melvin graduated with a B.A. in literature from <a title=\"Ohio Wesleyan University\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ohio_Wesleyan_University\">Ohio Wesleyan University<\/a> and, thirteen days later, joined the <a title=\"United States Air Force\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Air_Force\">Air Force<\/a>, serving for three and a half years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Early_years\" class=\"mw-headline\">Early years<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>He worked as a <a title=\"San Francisco cable car system\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Francisco_cable_car_system\">cable car<\/a> <a title=\"San Francisco cable car system\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Francisco_cable_car_system#Crew\">gripman<\/a> in San Francisco.<sup id=\"cite_ref-DariusJames_2-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Later, he wrote about these experiences. His first book, <i>The Big Heart<\/i>, credited to Melvin Van, evolved from a small article and a series of photographs taken by <a title=\"Ruth Bernhard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ruth_Bernhard\">Ruth Bernhard<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>According to Van Peebles, a passenger suggested that he should become a filmmaker. Van Peebles shot his first short film, <i>Pickup Men for Herrick<\/i> in 1957, and made two more short films during the same period. About these films, Van Peebles says: &#8220;I thought they were features. Each one turned out to be eleven minutes long. I was trying to do features. I knew nothing.&#8221; As he learned more about the filmmaking process, he found out that &#8220;I could make a feature for five hundred dollars. That was the cost of 90 minutes of film. I didn&#8217;t know a thing about shooting a film sixteen to one or ten to one or none of that shit. Then I forgot you had to develop film. And I didn&#8217;t know you needed a work print. All I can say is that after I did one thing he would say, &#8216;Well, aren&#8217;t you gonna put sound on it?&#8217; and I would go, &#8216;Oh shit!&#8217; That&#8217;s all I could say.&#8221;<sup id=\"cite_ref-DariusJames_2-3\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>After Van Peebles completed his first short films, he took them with him to <a title=\"Hollywood\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hollywood\">Hollywood<\/a> to try to find work, but was unable to find anyone who wanted to hire him as a director. Van Peebles decided to move his family to the Netherlands where he planned to study astronomy. On the way to Europe, in New York City, he met <a title=\"Amos Vogel\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amos_Vogel\">Amos Vogel<\/a>, founder of the avant-garde <a title=\"Cinema 16\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cinema_16\">Cinema 16<\/a> who agreed to place two of Van Peebles&#8217;s shorts in his rental catalog.\u00a0 Vogel screened Van Peebles&#8217;s <i>Three Pickup Men<\/i> <i>for Herrick<\/i> at Cinema 16 on a program with <i>City of Jazz<\/i> in the spring of 1960 with <a title=\"Ralph Ellison\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ralph_Ellison\">Ralph Ellison<\/a> leading a post-film discussion.<sup id=\"cite_ref-4\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles#cite_note-4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup> When Vogel went to Paris shortly after, he brought Van Peebles&#8217;s films to show <a title=\"Henri Langlois\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henri_Langlois\">Henri Langlois<\/a> and <a title=\"Mary Meerson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mary_Meerson\">Mary Meerson<\/a> at the <a title=\"Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que Fran\u00e7aise\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que_Fran%C3%A7aise\">Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que Fran\u00e7aise<\/a>. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Van Peebles&#8217;s marriage dissolved and his wife and children went back to America. Shortly after, Van Peebles was invited to Paris probably by <a title=\"Mary Meerson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mary_Meerson\">Mary Meerson<\/a> and\/or <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Lotte Eisner\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lotte_Eisner\">Lotte Eisner<\/a>, founders of the <a title=\"Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que Fran\u00e7aise\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que_Fran%C3%A7aise\">Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que Fran\u00e7aise<\/a>, on the strength of his short films. In France, Van Peebles created a short film <i>Les Cinq Cent Balles (500 Francs) (1961)<\/i> and then established himself as a French writer. He did investigative reporting for <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"France-observateur\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/France-observateur\">France Observateur<\/a> during 1963-64 during which he profiled, and later became friends with, <a title=\"Chester Himes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chester_Himes\">Chester Himes<\/a>. Chester Himes got him a job at the anti-authoritarian humor magazine <i><a title=\"Hara-Kiri (magazine)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hara-Kiri_(magazine)\">Hara-kiri<\/a><\/i> where Van Peebles wrote a monthly column and eventually joined the editorial board.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"1965.E2.80.931970\"><\/span><span id=\"1965\u20131970\" class=\"mw-headline\">1965\u20131970<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>During 1965\u201366, <i>Mad<\/i> magazine attempted a French edition and hired Van Peebles as editor-in-chief during its run of only five issues. He began to write plays in French, utilizing the <a title=\"Sprechgesang\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sprechgesang\">sprechgesang<\/a> form of songwriting, where the lyrics were spoken over the music. This style carried over to Van Peebles&#8217; debut album, <i><a title=\"Brer Soul\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brer_Soul\">Brer Soul<\/a><\/i>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-DariusJames_2-4\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Van Peebles was a prolific writer in France. He published four novels and a collection of short stories. He completed at least one play, <i>La F\u00eate \u00e0 Harlem<\/i> which was also released as a novel, and which he would later make into the musical <i>Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap<\/i>. Roger Blin directed <i>La F\u00eate a Harlem<\/i> with the Les Griots theatrical troop for the Festival du jeune th\u00e9\u00e2tre in Leige, Belgium in September 1964.<sup id=\"cite_ref-7\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles#cite_note-7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> Van Peebles made his first feature-length film, <i><a title=\"The Story of a Three-Day Pass\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Story_of_a_Three-Day_Pass\">The Story of a Three-Day Pass<\/a><\/i> (<i>La Permission<\/i>) (1968) based on a novel by the same title. The film caught the attention of Hollywood producers who mistook him for a French <a title=\"Auteur\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Auteur\">auteur<\/a> after it won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival as the French entry.<sup id=\"cite_ref-8\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles#cite_note-8\">[8]<\/a><\/sup> Van Peebles&#8217;s first Hollywood film was the 1970 <a title=\"Columbia Pictures\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbia_Pictures\">Columbia Pictures<\/a> comedy <i><a title=\"Watermelon Man (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watermelon_Man_(film)\">Watermelon Man<\/a><\/i>, written by <a title=\"Herman Raucher\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Herman_Raucher\">Herman Raucher<\/a>. The movie tells the story of a casually racist white man who suddenly wakes up black and finds himself alienated from his friends, family and job.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"1970.E2.80.931995\"><\/span><span id=\"1970\u20131995\" class=\"mw-headline\">1970\u20131995<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>In 1970 Van Peebles was also to direct filming of the <a title=\"Powder Ridge Rock Festival\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Powder_Ridge_Rock_Festival\">Powder Ridge Rock Festival<\/a>, which was banned by court injunction. After <i>Watermelon Man<\/i>, Van Peebles became determined to have complete control over his next production, which became the groundbreaking <i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a><\/i> (1971), privately funded with his own money, and in part by a $50,000 loan from <a title=\"Bill Cosby\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bill_Cosby\">Bill Cosby<\/a>. Van Peebles not only directed, scripted, and edited the film, but wrote the score and directed the marketing campaign. The film, which in the end grossed $10 million, was, among many others, acclaimed by the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Black Panthers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_Panthers\">Black Panthers<\/a> for its political resonance with the black struggle. His son Mario&#8217;s 2003 film <i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"BAADASSSSS!\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BAADASSSSS!\">BAADASSSSS!<\/a><\/i> tells the story behind the making of <i>Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/i>; father and son presented the film together as the Closing Night selection for <a title=\"Maryland Film Festival\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maryland_Film_Festival\">Maryland Film Festival<\/a> 2004.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the 1980s, Van Peebles became an <a title=\"Option (finance)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Option_(finance)\">options<\/a> trader on the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"American Stock Exchange\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Stock_Exchange\">American Stock Exchange<\/a> while continuing to work in theater and film.<sup id=\"cite_ref-9\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 1995, he co-starred in the <a title=\"Tony Randel\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tony_Randel\">Tony Randel<\/a> American live-action version of <a title=\"Japan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Japan\">Japanese<\/a> <a title=\"Manga\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Manga\">manga<\/a> <i><a title=\"Fist of the North Star (1995 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fist_of_the_North_Star_(1995_film)\">Fist of the North Star<\/a>,<\/i> alongside <a title=\"Gary Daniels\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gary_Daniels\">Gary Daniels<\/a>, <a title=\"Costas Mandylor\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Costas_Mandylor\">Costas Mandylor<\/a>, <a title=\"Chris Penn\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chris_Penn\">Chris Penn<\/a>, <a title=\"Isako Washio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Isako_Washio\">Isako Washio<\/a> <a title=\"Malcolm McDowell\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malcolm_McDowell\">Malcolm McDowell<\/a>, <a title=\"Downtown Julie Brown\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Downtown_Julie_Brown\">Downtown Julie Brown<\/a>, <a title=\"Dante Basco\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dante_Basco\">Dante Basco<\/a>, <a title=\"Tracey Walter\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tracey_Walter\">Tracey Walter<\/a>, <a title=\"Clint Howard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Clint_Howard\">Clint Howard<\/a>, <a title=\"Tony Halme\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tony_Halme\">Tony Halme<\/a>, and <a title=\"Big Van Vader\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_Van_Vader\">Big Van Vader<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-11\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"2005.E2.80.932009\"><\/span><span id=\"2005\u20132009\" class=\"mw-headline\">2005\u20132009<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>In 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of a documentary entitled <i><a title=\"How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/How_to_Eat_Your_Watermelon_in_White_Company_(and_Enjoy_It)\">How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)<\/a><\/i>. Also in 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of the documentary <i><a title=\"Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Unstoppable:_Conversation_with_Melvin_Van_Peebles,_Gordon_Parks,_and_Ossie_Davis\">Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis<\/a><\/i>, which also featured <a title=\"Ossie Davis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ossie_Davis\">Ossie Davis<\/a> and <a title=\"Gordon Parks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gordon_Parks\">Gordon Parks<\/a> in the same room. It was moderated by <a title=\"Warrington Hudlin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Warrington_Hudlin\">Warrington Hudlin<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-12\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2005, it was announced that Van Peebles would collaborate with <a title=\"Madlib\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Madlib\">Madlib<\/a> for a proposed <a title=\"Double album\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Double_album\">double album<\/a> titled <i>Brer Soul Meets Quasimoto<\/i>. However, nothing has been said about this project since it was announced.<sup id=\"cite_ref-13\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2008, Van Peebles completed the film <i><a title=\"Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Confessionsofa_Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted_Mutha\">Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha<\/a><\/i>, which was the Closing Night selection for <a title=\"Maryland Film Festival\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maryland_Film_Festival\">Maryland Film Festival<\/a> 2008, and appeared on <i><a title=\"All My Children\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/All_My_Children\">All My Children<\/a><\/i> as Melvin Woods, the father of Samuel Woods, a character portrayed by his son, Mario.<sup id=\"cite_ref-14\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2009, Van Peebles became involved with a project to adapt <i>Sweet Sweetback<\/i> into a musical.<sup id=\"cite_ref-16\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> A preliminary version of this was staged at the Apollo on April 25\u201326, 2009. As well, he wrote and performed in a stage musical, <i>Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies<\/i>, which featured some of his previous songs as well as some new material.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"2011.E2.80.932019\"><\/span><span id=\"2011\u20132019\" class=\"mw-headline\">2011\u20132019<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>In 2011, Van Peebles started doing shows in NYC with members of <a title=\"Burnt Sugar\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Burnt_Sugar\">Burnt Sugar<\/a>, under the name <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles_wid_Laxative\">Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-18\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Van Peebles has said that the band is called Laxative because they &#8220;make shit happen&#8221;. In November, 2011, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative performed his song &#8220;<a title=\"Love, That's America\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Love,_That%27s_America\">Love, That&#8217;s America<\/a>&#8221; at <a title=\"Zebulon Cafe Concert\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zebulon_Cafe_Concert\">Zebulon Cafe Concert<\/a>, two weeks after the venue showed the original video for this song involving <a title=\"Occupy Wall Street\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Occupy_Wall_Street\">Occupy Wall Street<\/a> footage, which was uploaded to <a title=\"YouTube\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/YouTube\">YouTube<\/a> in October 2011.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/df\/Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg\/220px-Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/df\/Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg\/330px-Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/df\/Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg\/440px-Melvinvanpeebles_ghettomother_fan.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"147\" data-file-width=\"4608\" data-file-height=\"3072\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Van Peebles in front of his artwork, <i>A Ghetto Mother&#8217;s Prayer<\/i>, in 2017<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On August 21, 2012, he distributed a new album, on vinyl only, called <i>Nahh&#8230; Nahh Mofo<\/i>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-22\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> This album was distributed at his birthday celebration at <a title=\"Film Forum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Film_Forum\">Film Forum<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-26\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles#cite_note-26\">[26]<\/a><\/sup> On November 10, 2012, he released a video for the song &#8220;<a title=\"Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lilly_Done_the_Zampoughi_Every_Time_I_Pulled_Her_Coattail\">Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail<\/a>&#8221; to go with the album, which was announced on his Facebook page.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On May 5, 2013, he returned to the <a title=\"Film Forum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Film_Forum\">Film Forum<\/a> for a screening of <a title=\"Charlie Chaplin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Chaplin\">Charlie Chaplin<\/a>&#8216;s <i><a title=\"The Kid (1921 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Kid_(1921_film)\">The Kid<\/a><\/i> (1921) and was a judge at the Charlie Chaplin Dress-Alike Contest that was after the screening. He wore a bowler hat and baggy pants in honor of Chaplin.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In September 2013, Van Peebles made his public debut as a visual artist, as a part of a gallery featured called &#8220;eMerge 2.0: Melvin Van Peebles &amp; Artists on the Cusp&#8221;.<sup id=\"cite_ref-30\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> It features &#8220;Ex-Voto Monochrome (A Ghetto Mother&#8217;s Prayer)&#8221;, one of many pieces of art he created to be on display in his home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2017, <i>Methane Momma<\/i>, a short film directed by Alain Rimbert, featured Van Peebles and his narration of poetic work with accompaniment of music by <a title=\"The Heliocentrics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Heliocentrics\">The Heliocentrics<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-31\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2019, <a title=\"Burnt Sugar\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Burnt_Sugar\">Burnt Sugar<\/a> presented the film <i>Sweetback<\/i> in Brooklyn while playing their own interpretation of the soundtrack. Van Peebles appeared at the presentation.<sup id=\"cite_ref-34\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Personal_life\" class=\"mw-headline\">Personal life<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles married Maria Marx. They lived in <a title=\"Mexico\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mexico\">Mexico<\/a> for a period in the late 1950s, where he painted portraits. Their son, actor and director <a title=\"Mario Van Peebles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mario_Van_Peebles\">Mario Van Peebles<\/a>, was born while they resided in Mexico. The family subsequently returned to the United States.<sup id=\"cite_ref-35\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Van Peebles died on September 21, 2021, at his home in <a title=\"Manhattan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Manhattan\">Manhattan<\/a> at age 89.<sup id=\"cite_ref-36\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Bibliography\" class=\"mw-headline\">Bibliography<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>(As &#8220;Melvin Van&#8221;) <i>The Big Heart<\/i>, San Francisco: Fearon, 1957. With photographs by <a title=\"Ruth Bernhard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ruth_Bernhard\">Ruth Bernhard<\/a>, a book about life on San Francisco&#8217;s <a title=\"Cable car (railway)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cable_car_(railway)\">cable cars<\/a>. &#8220;A cable car is a big heart with people for blood. The people pump on and off\u2014if you think of it like that it is pretty simple&#8221; (p.\u00a021).<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Un Ours pour le F.B.I.<\/i> (1964); <i>A Bear for the F.B.I.<\/i>, Trident, 1968.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Un Am\u00e9ricain en enfer<\/i> (1965); <i>The True American<\/i>, Doubleday, 1976.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Le Chinois du XIV<\/i> (1966) (short stories)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>La F\u00eate \u00e0 Harlem<\/i> (<i>Harlem Party<\/i>) (1967) (novel)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"La Permission\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/La_Permission\">La Permission<\/a><\/i> (1967)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/i>, Lancer Books, New York, 1971.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/i>, Bantam, New York, 1973.<sup id=\"cite_ref-38\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap: A Harlem Party<\/i>, Bantam Books, New York, 1973.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Just an Old Sweet Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Just_an_Old_Sweet_Song\">Just an Old Sweet Song<\/a><\/i>, Ballantine, New York, 1976.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Bold Money: A New Way to Play the Options Market<\/i>, Warner Books, New York, 1986, <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"ISBN (identifier)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_(identifier)\">ISBN<\/a>\u00a0<a title=\"Special:BookSources\/0-446-51340-7\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/0-446-51340-7\">0-446-51340-7<\/a> (nonfiction)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Melvin and Mario Van Peebles: <i>No Identity Crisis<\/i>, A Fireside Book, Simon &amp; Schuster, New York, 1990.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Panther<\/i>, Thunder&#8217;s Mouth Press, 1995.<sup id=\"cite_ref-39\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Filmography\" class=\"mw-headline\">Filmography<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/ba\/Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg\/220px-Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/ba\/Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg\/330px-Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/ba\/Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg\/440px-Sweet_sweetback_poster.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"328\" data-file-width=\"2010\" data-file-height=\"3000\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Peebles&#8217; 1971 film <i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a><\/i> received acclaim from black rights groups for its political resonance with the black struggle and grossed $10 million.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table class=\"wikitable plainrowheaders\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th rowspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th rowspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Film<\/strong><\/th>\n<th colspan=\"4\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Credited as<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"unsortable\" rowspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"unsortable\" rowspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\"><strong><span class=\"rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted\" title=\"Reference(s)\">Ref.<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th width=\"65\"><strong><a title=\"Film director\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Film_director\">Director<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<th width=\"65\"><strong><a title=\"Film producer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Film_producer\">Producer<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<th width=\"65\"><strong><a title=\"Screenwriter\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Screenwriter\">Writer<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<th width=\"65\"><strong><a title=\"Composer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Composer\">Composer<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1957<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i>Three Pickup Men for Herrick<\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Short<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1961<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i>Sunlight<\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Short<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1961<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i>Cinq cent balles<\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1967<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"The Story of a Three-Day Pass\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Story_of_a_Three-Day_Pass\">The Story of a Three-Day Pass<\/a><\/i> (also known as <i><a title=\"La Permission\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/La_Permission\">La Permission<\/a><\/i>)<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>from his novel <i>La Permission<\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1969<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Slogan (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Slogan_(film)\">Slogan<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Screenwriter, Directed by Pierre Grimblat.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1970<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Watermelon Man (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watermelon_Man_(film)\">Watermelon Man<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1971<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Co-producer and also actor<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1973<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Don't Play Us Cheap\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Don%27t_Play_Us_Cheap\">Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>from his book <i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Harlem Party\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harlem_Party\">Harlem Party<\/a><\/i> and stage musical <i>Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap<\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1976<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Just an Old Sweet Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Just_an_Old_Sweet_Song\">Just an Old Sweet Song<\/a> (also known as Down Home)<\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>made for television; screenwriter and theme song<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1977<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Greased Lightning\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Greased_Lightning\">Greased Lightning<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>screenwriter<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1981<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"The Sophisticated Gents\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Sophisticated_Gents\">The Sophisticated Gents<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>made for television; actor, screenwriter, song &#8220;Greased Lightning&#8221; and producer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1987<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i>The Day They Came to Arrest the Book<\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>made for television; screenwriter<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1989<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Identity Crisis (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Identity_Crisis_(film)\">Identity Crisis<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Also actor and editor<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1995<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Panther (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Panther_(film)\">Panther<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>based on his novel <i>Panther<\/i>, screenwriter, actor and producer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1996<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Vroom Vroom Vroooom\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vroom_Vroom_Vroooom\">Vroom Vroom Vroooom<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>segment from <i><a title=\"Tales of Erotica\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tales_of_Erotica\">Tales of Erotica<\/a><\/i>, also known as <i>Erotic Tales. Also Editor<\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1996<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a title=\"Gang in Blue\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gang_in_Blue\">Gang in Blue<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Co-director and also actor<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>2000<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Le Conte du ventre plein\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Le_Conte_du_ventre_plein\">Le Conte du ventre plein<\/a><\/i> (also known as <i><a title=\"Bellyful\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bellyful\">Bellyful<\/a><\/i>)<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes*<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>*Delegate Producer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>2008<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Confessionsofa_Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted_Mutha\">Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha<\/a><i><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>2012<\/strong><\/td>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lilly_Done_the_Zampoughi_Every_Time_I_Pulled_Her_Coattail\">Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail<\/a><i><\/i><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"table-yes\"><strong>Yes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"table-no\"><strong>No<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Also editor and performer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Other_writing_credits\" class=\"mw-headline\">Other writing credits<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ain%27t_Supposed_to_Die_a_Natural_Death\">Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/a><\/i> (1971) Broadway musical book and score<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melvin_Van_Peebles%27_Classified_X\">Melvin Van Peebles&#8217; Classified X<\/a><\/i> (Mark Daniels, 1998) documentary; screenwriter, actor and executive producer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a>: The Musical<\/i> (2008) writer, singer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies<\/i> (2009) writer, performer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"As_himself\" class=\"mw-headline\">As himself<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i>Unstoppable<\/i> (2005)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company<\/i> (2005)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Other_acting-only_credits\" class=\"mw-headline\">Other acting-only credits<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"O.C. and Stiggs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/O.C._and_Stiggs\">O.C. and Stiggs<\/a><\/i> (1987) as Bob &#8216;Wino Bob&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Jaws: The Revenge\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jaws:_The_Revenge\">Jaws: The Revenge<\/a><\/i> (1987) as Mr. Witherspoon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Taking Care of Terrific<\/i> (1987) (television film) as &#8216;Hawk&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Sonny Spoon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonny_Spoon\">Sonny Spoon<\/a><\/i> (1988) (television series) as Mel Spoon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Boomerang (1992 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boomerang_(1992_film)\">Boomerang<\/a><\/i> (1992) as Editor<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Posse (1993 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Posse_(1993_film)\">Posse<\/a><\/i> (1993) as Joe &#8216;Papa Joe&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Terminal Velocity (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Terminal_Velocity_(film)\">Terminal Velocity<\/a><\/i> (1994) as Noble<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Fist of the North Star (1995 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fist_of_the_North_Star_(1995_film)\">Fist of the North Star<\/a><\/i> (1995) as Asher<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Living Single<\/i> (1996) as Warner Devant<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"The Shining (miniseries)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Shining_(miniseries)\">The Shining<\/a><\/i> (1997) (miniseries) as <a title=\"Dick Hallorann\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dick_Hallorann\">Dick Hallorann<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"The Hebrew Hammer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Hebrew_Hammer\">The Hebrew Hammer<\/a><\/i> (2003) as Sweetback<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Blackout (2007 film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blackout_(2007_film)\">BlacKout<\/a><\/i> (2007) as George<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Redemption Road\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Redemption_Road\">Redemption Road<\/a><\/i> (2010) as Elmo<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"We the Party\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/We_the_Party\">We the Party<\/a><\/i> (2012) as &#8216;Big D&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Armed (film)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Armed_(film)\">Armed<\/a><\/i> (2018) as Grandpa V<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Plays\" class=\"mw-headline\">Plays<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"The Hostage (play)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Hostage_(play)\">The Hostage<\/a><\/i> (Dutch National Theatre Tour, writer, 1964)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ain%27t_Supposed_to_Die_a_Natural_Death\">Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/a><\/i> (writer, 1972)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Don't Play Us Cheap\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Don%27t_Play_Us_Cheap\">Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap<\/a><\/i> (writer, 1972)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Out There by Your Lonesome<\/i> (one-man play, 1973)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Waltz of the Stork\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Waltz_of_the_Stork\">Waltz of the Stork<\/a><\/i> (actor, writer, 1982)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Champeen\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Champeen\">Champeen<\/a><\/i> (musical, writer, 1983)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Discography\" class=\"mw-headline\">Discography<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<table class=\"box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove\" role=\"presentation\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mbox-image\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"mbox-text\">\n<div class=\"mbox-text-span\"><strong><span class=\"hide-when-compact\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Studio_albums\" class=\"mw-headline\">Studio albums<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Brer Soul\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brer_Soul\">Brer Soul<\/a><\/i> (1968)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (album)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ain%27t_Supposed_to_Die_a_Natural_Death_(album)\">Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/a><\/i> (1970)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"As Serious as a Heart-Attack\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/As_Serious_as_a_Heart-Attack\">As Serious as a Heart-Attack<\/a><\/i> (1974)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?!\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/What_the....You_Mean_I_Can%27t_Sing%3F!\">What the&#8230;.You Mean I Can&#8217;t Sing?!<\/a><\/i> (1974)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Ghetto Gothic\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ghetto_Gothic\">Ghetto Gothic<\/a><\/i> (1995)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Nahh&#8230; Nahh Mofo<\/i> (2012)<sup id=\"cite_ref-40\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>The Last Transmission<\/i> (2014, with <a title=\"The Heliocentrics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Heliocentrics\">The Heliocentrics<\/a>)<sup id=\"cite_ref-42\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Compilations\" class=\"mw-headline\">Compilations<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i>X-Rated By an All-White Jury<\/i> (1997) &#8211; including <i>Brer Soul<\/i>, <i>Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/i> and <i>As Serious as a Heart-Attack<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Soundtrack_albums\" class=\"mw-headline\">Soundtrack albums<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Watermelon Man (soundtrack)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watermelon_Man_(soundtrack)\">Watermelon Man<\/a><\/i> (1970)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (soundtrack)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sweet_Sweetback%27s_Baadasssss_Song_(soundtrack)\">Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/a><\/i> (1971)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ain%27t_Supposed_to_Die_a_Natural_Death#Soundtrack\">Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death<\/a><\/i> (1972)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i><a title=\"Don't Play Us Cheap (soundtrack)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Don%27t_Play_Us_Cheap_(soundtrack)\">Don&#8217;t Play Us Cheap<\/a><\/i> (1973)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"res1039902557\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\"><strong><a id=\"featuredStackSquareImage363549424\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2014\/11\/15\/363549424\/when-the-lights-go-down-who-will-hear-the-last-transmission\" data-metrics=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;Story to Story&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;Click Internal Link&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/15\\\/363549424\\\/when-the-lights-go-down-who-will-hear-the-last-transmission&quot;}\"><picture><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2014\/11\/12\/melvin-van-peebles-last-transmission-cover-image_sq-b7faf5f081d90e5aec09eba1381094ba737db016-s300-c85.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><source class=\"img\" srcset=\"\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2014\/11\/12\/melvin-van-peebles-last-transmission-cover-image_sq-b7faf5f081d90e5aec09eba1381094ba737db016-s300-c85.jpg\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2014\/11\/12\/melvin-van-peebles-last-transmission-cover-image_sq-b7faf5f081d90e5aec09eba1381094ba737db016-s300-c85.jpg\" alt=\"When The Lights Go Down, Who Will Hear 'The Last Transmission'?\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Van Peebles was born in Chicago in 1932. He helped pave the way for the renegade genre known as blaxpolitation, with movies that were bitingly funny, sexually swaggering and occasionally violent, that put Black protagonists front and center. His heroes were hustlers and revolutionaries; <em>Sweetback <\/em>was considered so outrageous, it was originally rated X. It was also a huge financial success.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The director was multi-talented; he was also a playwright, painter and composer who seriously studied astronomy and options trading as alternative careers. His death came shortly before the 50th anniversary of <em>Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song<\/em> and a celebration planned by the the New York Film Festival. The Criterion Collection planned a box set to be released next week called &#8220;Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films.&#8221; The company announced the filmmakers&#8217; death on social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"res1039887854\" class=\"bucketwrap twitter large graphic624\" aria-label=\"Tweet\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><strong>We are saddened to announce the passing of a giant of American cinema, Melvin Van Peebles, who died last night, at home with family, at the age of 89. In an unparalleled career, Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape. He will be deeply missed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HpciXXVoYo\">pic.twitter.com\/HpciXXVoYo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Criterion Collection (@Criterion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Criterion\/status\/1440784276866301959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 22, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>The Criterion Collection&#8217;s statement read in part, &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<footer id=\"npr-footer\" class=\"npr-footer\" role=\"contentinfo\" aria-label=\"NPR footer\">\n<div class=\"npr-footer__content\" data-metrics-category=\"Global Footer\" data-metrics-label=\"Footer\">\n<div class=\"npr-footer__module npr-footer__module--secondary\">\n<header class=\"caas-header\">\n<header class=\"caas-title-wrapper\">\n<h1 data-test-locator=\"headline\"><strong>&#8216;Godfather of modern Black cinema&#8217; Melvin Van Peebles dies at 89<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/header>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure caas-cover\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/nxJvec73zL1ub7dqxuqDsw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/MkceRO8S_Sv6RZy7IeWrLg--~B\/aD01MTA7dz03Njg7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/afp.com.sg\/d293fa236b928bdb36f1cd047603bfe1\" alt=\"\" data-caas-img-sync-decoding=\"1\" data-caas-lazy-oading-init=\"1\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\" data-id=\"m-0\"><strong>A pioneer of new Black cinema, director and actor Melvin Van Peebles has died at the age of 89<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"xray-popup-content wafer-scrollview wafer-loader-success\" data-wf-behavior=\"native\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"caas-body\">\n<p><strong>Pioneering African-American writer and director Melvin Van Peebles, whose groundbreaking 1971 film &#8220;Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song&#8221; inspired a younger generation of Black filmmakers, has died at the age of 89.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Van Peebles, often called the &#8220;godfather of modern Black cinema,&#8221; died Tuesday night at home with his family, his actor son Mario Van Peebles and The Criterion Collection said in a statement.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;We are saddened to announce the passing of a giant of American cinema, Melvin Van Peebles, who died last night, at home with family.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;In an unparalleled career, Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape. He will be deeply missed.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With &#8220;Sweet Sweetback,&#8221; a low-budget film about a sex show performer who ends up killing two racist cops who were beating a Black Panther activist, Van Peebles ushered in an era of &#8220;Blaxploitation&#8221; films and was an inspiration to a new generation of filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Barry Jenkins.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t even know I had a legacy,&#8221; Van Peebles told the New York Times in a 2010 interview. &#8220;I do what I want to do.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Sweet Sweetback,&#8221; which Van Peebles wrote, directed, financed and starred in, opened in just two venues but thanks to strong word-of-mouth among Black audiences went on to take $10 million, making it the highest-grossing independent film in history at the time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Criterion Collection, which is releasing a collection of his films, called it &#8220;a landmark of Black and American independent cinema that would send shock waves through the culture.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8211; &#8216;Black images matter&#8217; &#8211;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free,&#8221; Mario Van Peebles said in the statement announcing the death of his father.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"Masterwrap\" class=\"W(100%) Pos(r) Op(1) Reader-open_Op(0) Trs($pageTransition)\">\n<div id=\"Page\" class=\"D(f)! 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It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I want people to be empowered and also have a damn good time,&#8221; the elder Van Peebles said in the 2010 Times interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Born in 1932 in Chicago, Van Peebles graduated with a degree in literature and served in the US Air Force, before variously working as an artist, writer, director, musician and novelist. He also studied astronomy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His first feature, &#8220;The Story of a Three-Day Pass,&#8221; told the tale of a Black US soldier who is demoted for fraternizing with a white girl in France.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The film got him noticed by Hollywood, with Columbia Pictures signing him to direct the 1970 racial satire &#8220;Watermelon Man,&#8221; about a white bigot who overnight turns into a Black man.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In addition to his writing and filmmaking, Van Peebles had several shows on Broadway, including the musical &#8220;Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,&#8221; which earned seven Tony nominations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Do the Right Thing&#8221; director Lee was among those paying tribute, posting a picture of a signed &#8220;Sweet Sweetback&#8221; poster on Instagram.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I am so saddened by the loss of my brother Melvin Van Peebles who brought independent Black cinema to the forefront with his groundbreaking film Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song,&#8221; Lee wrote.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Damn, We Have Lost Another Giant! Condolences To The Peebles Family.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Moonlight&#8221; director Jenkins said Van Peebles made the most of life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off,&#8221; Jenkins said on Twitter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;The man just absolutely LIVED.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ov(h) Trs($adTranslate) HideBottomBar_H(0) Pos(r) Z(0)\">\n<div id=\"sda-LDRB2-9\" class=\" Mt(56px) Mb($articleAdMargin) Ta(c) LDRB2-9-status-unknown\">\n<div id=\"sda-LDRB2-9-iframe\">\n<div class=\"css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0\">\n<h1 id=\"link-39eddf10\" class=\"css-rsa88z e1h9rw200\" data-testid=\"headline\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles, Champion of New Black Cinema, Dies at 89<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-w6ymp8 e1wiw3jv0\"><strong>A fertile creative force, he wrote fiction and musicals but is best known for a breakthrough movie that heralded the genre known as blaxploitation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1h3kdrk ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-tux0zj ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-h7jfto ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"css-oyt3a4 euiyums1\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium layoutHorizontal css-1a1lp8y\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-bsn42l\"><strong><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-rq4mmj\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"The filmmaker, author and actor Melvin Van Peebles in his apartment in Manhattan in 2010. In his work he spoke out of an &amp;ldquo;undeniable Black consciousness,&amp;rdquo; one critic wrote.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-13o4bnb e18f7pbr0\"><strong><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The filmmaker, author and actor Melvin Van Peebles in his apartment in Manhattan in 2010. In his work he spoke out of an \u201cundeniable Black consciousness,\u201d one critic wrote.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles, the filmmaker praised as the godfather of modern Black cinema and a trailblazer in American independent movies, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 89.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>His death was announced by his son Mario Van Peebles, the actor and director.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>A Renaissance man whose work spanned books, theater and music, Mr. Van Peebles is best known for his third feature film,<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/films\/32000-sweet-sweetback-s-baadasssss-song\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> \u201cSweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,\u201d<\/a> which drew mixed reviews when it was released in 1971, ignited intense debate and became a national hit. The hero, Sweetback, starred in a sex show at a brothel, and the movie sizzled with explosive violence, explicit sex and righteous antagonism toward the white power structure. It was dedicated to \u201call the Black brothers and sisters who have had enough of The Man.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles\u2019s fiercely independent legacy can be seen in some of the most notable Black films of the past half-century, from Spike Lee\u2019s \u201cShe\u2019s Gotta Have It\u201d (1986) to Barry Jenkins\u2019s \u201cMoonlight\u201d (2016). His death arrives at a moment when Black storytelling has belatedly become ascendant in Hollywood.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>\u201cI didn\u2019t even know I had a legacy,\u201d <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/01\/24\/theater\/24vanpeebles.html\">he told The New York Times<\/a> in 2010, when asked about his reputation and influence. \u201cI do what I want to do.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Not only did Mr. Van Peebles write, direct and score \u201cSweet Sweetback\u2019s\u201d and play the lead role; he also raised the money to produce it. The film demonstrated that a Black director could convey a highly personal vision to a broad audience. \u201cFor the first time in cinematic history in America, a movie speaks out of an undeniable Black consciousness,\u201d Sam Washington wrote in The Chicago Sun-Times.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-29y8gz ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-tux0zj ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-1fqosux ehw59r11\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-captionblock\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-858vce ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-1l3p632 e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Image<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles3\/merlin_179514705_ec5ecb7a-0a0b-4fa2-a3c3-cadca341a4d4-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Mr. Van Peebles, right, with Hubert Scales in\u00a0\u201cSweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song\u201d (1971). Written and directed by Mr. Van Peebles, it was one of the most successful independent films of its time.\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu ewdxa0s0\"><strong><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Mr. Van Peebles, right, with Hubert Scales in\u00a0\u201cSweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song\u201d (1971). Written and directed by Mr. Van Peebles, it was one of the most successful independent films of its time.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>In addition to making movies, Mr. Van Peebles published novels, in French as well as in English; wrote two Broadway musicals and produced them simultaneously; and wrote and performed spoken-word albums that many have called forebears of rap.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Over the course of his life he was also a cable-car driver in San Francisco, a portrait painter in Mexico City, a street performer in Paris, a stock options trader in New York, the navigator of an Air Force bomber, a postal worker, a visual artist and, by his own account, a very successful gigolo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles grandly called himself \u201cthe Rosa Parks of Black cinema.\u201d Along with Gordon Parks, whose 1971 film \u201cShaft\u201d lionized a streetwise Black detective, he was among the first Black filmmakers to reach a wide general audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>\u201cSweetback,\u201d \u201cShaft\u201d and numerous knockoffs released throughout the 1970s were a response to a new militancy among young urban Black people. The movies\u2019 casts were mainly Black, and the music was mainly funk and soul. Racial put-downs of whites were common, as were sex, violence and critiques of capitalism and police brutality. Many displayed a slick coolness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Some critics complained that the genre perpetuated racist myths and stereotypes. After \u201cSuper Fly\u201d \u2014 the story of a cocaine dealer directed by Mr. Parks\u2019s son Gordon Jr. \u2014 was released in 1972, the term \u201cblaxploitation\u201d (a combination of \u201cBlack\u201d and \u201cexploitation\u201d) came into general use. The N.A.A.C.P. joined with other civil rights groups to form the Coalition Against Blaxploitation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in 1972, Mr. Van Peebles countered that he was challenging the \u201cfalse Black images\u201d that white people used \u201cto confuse, drain and colonize our minds.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles was born on the South Side of Chicago on Aug. 21, 1932. Van was originally his middle name; he later made it part of his last name.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The son of a tailor, he grew up in Phoenix, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. He attended the historically black West Virginia State College (now University) before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University, where he joined the R.O.T.C. and majored in English literature.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>After graduating at age 20 in 1954, he joined the Air Force, becoming a navigator on a B-47 bomber for three years. While in the service he married <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0555642\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maria Marx<\/a>, a German actress.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>After his discharge Mr. Van Peebles could not get hired by a commercial airline, so the newlyweds went to Mexico City, where their son Mario was born. They later had a daughter, Megan, who died in 2006. In addition to Mario, he is survived by another son, Max; a daughter, Marguerite Van Peebles; and 11 grandchildren.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-z3e15g\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper-hidden\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-13qqe38 ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-tux0zj ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-u7t2ca ehw59r11\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-captionblock\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1bfno9b ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-1l3p632 e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Image<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles2-print2\/merlin_11388500_6959b768-5473-4ca9-af73-2b1c317b830f-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Mr. Van Peebles with his son Mario, the well-known actor and director with whom he sometimes collaborated.\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu ewdxa0s0\"><strong><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Mr. Van Peebles with his son Mario, the well-known actor and director with whom he sometimes collaborated.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles painted portraits in Mexico before moving to San Francisco, where he worked in the Post Office and drove cable cars. The cable car experience inspired his first book, \u201cThe Big Heart\u201d (1957).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>He made several short films in San Francisco, then moved on to Hollywood to pursue his cinematic dream. But the only job he could find there was as an elevator operator.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Emigrating to the Netherlands, he studied astronomy \u2014 a personal fascination \u2014 at the University of Amsterdam and acting at the Dutch National Theater. His marriage ended in divorce, and he hitchhiked to Paris. He sang for coins outside theaters, wrote magazine articles about crime and helped edit a humor magazine. He lived, he later recalled, on $600 a year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles told People magazine in 1982 that he had supplemented this meager income by ingratiating himself with rich women. \u201cI had a lady for each day of the week,\u201d he said. \u201cI only had to worry about my back giving out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>He wrote five novels and a volume of short stories that were published in French. Several novels were also published in English, among them \u201cA Bear for the F.B.I.\u201d (1968). Martin Levin,<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/timesmachine.nytimes.com\/timesmachine\/1968\/10\/06\/102305338.html?pageNumber=157\"> reviewing it in The Times,<\/a> praised it for \u201cwhizzing brilliantly through the memories of a Chicago boyhood\u201d much like the author\u2019s.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>After discovering that the French cultural authorities financed films based on works written in French, Mr. Van Peebles won a subsidy to turn his novel \u201cLa Permission\u201d into the film \u201cThe Story of a Three-Day Pass\u201d (1967). It told of a Black soldier being harassed by his white comrades for having a white girlfriend.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The movie had its premiere at the 1967 San Francisco Film Festival, where it won the Critics\u2019 Choice award. Columbia Pictures then hired him to direct \u201cWatermelon Man\u201d (1970), a satirical comedy about a white bigot, played by Godfrey Cambridge, who turns into a Black man.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Columbia wanted Mr. Van Peebles to shoot alternative endings \u2014 one in which the protagonist becomes a Black militant, and another in which he discovers that it was all a dream. Mr. Van Peebles said he \u201cforgot\u201d to shoot the second ending.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Disliking working for a studio, he set out to be an independent filmmaker. To make \u201cSweetback,\u201d for $500,000, he combined his $70,000 savings with loans, used a nonunion crew and persuaded a film lab to extend him credit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The plot of the movie concerns a man who attacks two crooked police officers and then escapes as a fugitive to Mexico, vowing to return and \u201ccollect some dues.\u201d Only two theaters, in Detroit and Atlanta, would show the movie at first, but it caught fire and for several weeks outgrossed \u201cLove Story.\u201d Its American box office exceeded $15 million (about $100 million in today\u2019s money), a bonanza for an independent film at the time.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-8atqhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The film\u2019s success enabled Mr. Van Peebles to stage a musical he wrote, \u201cAin\u2019t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,\u201d on Broadway in 1971, with an initial personal investment of $150,000. The show was largely a dramatization of several albums he made in the late 1960s that have been called a precursor of rap music, because his words were spoken rather than sung and his theme addressed the inner life of the dispossessed. Junkies, prostitutes and crooked cops told their stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Advance sales were almost nil and reviews were tepid, so Mr. Van Peebles personally promoted the show to Black churches and fraternal groups within a 200-mile radius. Their members came by the busload.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The success of \u201cNatural Death\u201d led him to open on Broadway a second show he had written, \u201cDon\u2019t Play Us Cheap!,\u201d in May 1972. Starting a new production so late in the season \u2014 not to mention shepherding two Broadway ventures at once \u2014 was called lunacy. But both made money.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>The new show was as carefree as the first one was gritty, and it got glowing reviews. Clive Barnes of The Times called it \u201ca sprawling, rambunctious, great-hearted show.\u201d It was turned into a movie in 1973.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-z3e15g\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper-hidden\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-vkmwwk ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-tux0zj ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-16sp1hz ehw59r11\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-captionblock\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-aniy7h ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-1l3p632 e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Image<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><strong><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/22\/obituaries\/22vanpeebles4\/merlin_11394399_c353d04c-d735-401c-9f7a-d974e08646f9-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Mr. Van Peebles with the cast of the Classical Theater of Harlem\u2019s production of his musical \u201cAin\u2019t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,\u201d at the Harlem School of the Arts in 2004.\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu ewdxa0s0\"><strong><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Mr. Van Peebles with the cast of the Classical Theater of Harlem\u2019s production of his musical \u201cAin\u2019t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,\u201d at the Harlem School of the Arts in 2004.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles received Tony Award nominations for best book and best original score for \u201cAin\u2019t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,\u201d as well as a Drama Desk award for most promising book. \u201cDon\u2019t Play Us Cheap!\u201d brought him a Tony nomination for best book.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>A revival of \u201cNatural Death,\u201d mounted with the collaboration of Mario Van Peebles and under the direction of Kenny Leon, is scheduled to open on Broadway next year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>Mr. Van Peebles went on to act in movies and on television and occasionally to direct, sometimes in collaboration with his son Mario. In a Manhattan gallery he exhibited paintings and mixed-media works that he had created. He wrote Off Broadway plays. He started a band called Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>His business acumen drew almost as much comment as his artistic gifts. He once called himself \u201ca one-man conglomerate.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>In the mid-1980s, Mr. Van Peebles was one of the few Black options traders on the American Stock Exchange \u2014 \u201cmaking deals, like always,\u201d he said. He wrote a book about it: \u201cBold Money: How to Get Rich in the Options Market\u201d (1986).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>In his 80s, Mr. Van Peebles \u2014 who was easily recognizable by his flowing white beard and was seldom without a soggy, occasionally lit cigar \u2014 was still running for exercise five times a week and sounding as irascible as ever. He joked that he would not receive recognition for his body of work until he became more feeble.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><strong>\u201cRight now I\u2019m a little too dangerous,\u201d he said in 2013. \u201cI intend to stay dangerous.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-pncxxs etfikam0\"><strong>Jordan Allen contributed reporting.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related-links-block css-1j2g5xc epkadsg3\">\n<div class=\"css-xxlsxk epkadsg0\"><strong>Onscreen and Onstage<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1jghw14 epkadsg2\">\n<div class=\"css-1q1d7up e16ij5yr7\">\n<div class=\"css-1pksd7f e16ij5yr0\"><strong><img class=\"css-1p6jru7 e16ij5yr1\" sizes=\"(max-width:740px) 75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-thumbStandard.jpg 75w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1l19kgc e16ij5yr5\">\n<div class=\"css-18k65ak e16ij5yr3\"><strong>The Film That Made \u2018Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song\u2019 Possible<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-x7rtpa e16638kd1\"><strong>May 6, 2021<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1q1d7up e16ij5yr7\">\n<div class=\"css-1pksd7f e16ij5yr0\"><strong><img class=\"css-1p6jru7 e16ij5yr1\" sizes=\"(max-width:740px) 75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/01\/24\/arts\/24vanpeebles_CA0\/thumbStandard.jpg 75w, undefined\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1l19kgc e16ij5yr5\">\n<div class=\"css-18k65ak e16ij5yr3\"><strong>He\u2019s Got It Bad, or \u2018Baad,\u2019 for His Art<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-x7rtpa e16638kd1\"><strong>Jan. 20, 2010<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"pg-right-rail-tall pg-wrapper \">\n<article class=\"pg-rail-tall pg-rail--align-right \">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<h1 class=\"pg-headline\" data-act-id=\"article_head_0\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles, trailblazing director and Black cinema champion, has died<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"pg-side-of-rail pg-rail-tall__side\">\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__head js-pg-rail-tall__head\">\n<section id=\"large-media\" class=\"zn zn-large-media zn-body zn--idx-0 zn--ordinary zn-has-one-container\" data-eq-pts=\"xsmall: 0, medium: 460, large: 780, full16x9: 1100\" data-vr-zone=\"zone-0-0\" data-zone-label=\"headerMedia\" data-containers=\"1\" data-zn-id=\"large-media\" data-eq-state=\"xsmall medium large\">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-exlarge-169.jpg\" alt=\"Melvin Van Peebles, here in 2012, died Tuesday. He was 89.\" data-src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-small-169.jpg\" data-src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-medium-plus-169.jpg\" data-src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-large-169.jpg\" data-src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-exlarge-169.jpg\" data-src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-super-169.jpg\" data-src-full16x9=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-full-169.jpg\" data-src-mini1x1=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-small-11.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781\" data-eq-state=\"mini xsmall small medium\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210922194928-restricted-melvin-van-peebles-2015-exlarge-169.jpg\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"img__preloader\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__caption el__gallery_image-title\">\n<div class=\"element-raw appearance-standard\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles, here in 2012, died Tuesday. He was 89.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__body\">\n<section id=\"body-text\" class=\"zn zn-body-text zn-body zn--idx-0 zn--ordinary zn-has-multiple-containers zn-has-20-containers\" data-eq-pts=\"xsmall: 0, medium: 460, large: 780, full16x9: 1100\" data-vr-zone=\"zone-1-0\" data-zone-label=\"bodyText\" data-containers=\"20\" data-zn-id=\"body-text\" data-eq-state=\"xsmall medium large\">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<div class=\"el__leafmedia el__leafmedia--sourced-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph speakable\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_314C3D6C-3A78-0C01-1E52-0FF26642C4F9\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_0\"><strong><cite class=\"el-editorial-source\"><\/cite>Melvin Van Peebles, a trailblazing African-American director who helped champion a new wave of modern Black cinema in the 1970s, has died, his son announced Wednesday. He was 89.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_75CD6EC2-8818-2582-E148-0FF8A45F2A69\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_1\"><strong>Van Peebles, father of actor and director Mario Van Peebles, died at his home on Tuesday night, according to a statement shared on social media.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_FCDBE3F3-229A-BA0F-5331-0FF8A466AF87\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_2\"><strong>&#8220;Dad knew that Black images matter. 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,&#8221; Mario Van Peebles said of his father&#8217;s work in his statement. &#8220;True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer&#8217;s mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people.&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_600D60E5-42B5-705C-89A1-0FF8A467539B\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_3\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles&#8217; numerous film credits include &#8220;Watermelon Man&#8221; and &#8220;Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song.&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--epic ad--tablet\" data-ad-text=\"show\">\n<div data-ad-id=\"ad_nat_btf_01\" data-ad-position=\"tablet\" data-ad-refresh=\"default\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_006748CC-9128-41BE-B607-1000892D64FE\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_4\"><strong>He was also an accomplished author, playwright and an advocate for independent filmmakers.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__read-all\">\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_D31BC1B1-5864-6604-14EA-0FF8A46D74F8\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_5\"><strong>His son, The Criterion Collection and Janus Films celebrated his contributions to the arts in a statement.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_6FA6A9AB-165D-D458-7721-0FF8A46ED91F\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_6\"><strong>&#8220;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,&#8221; the statement read.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_BDBB6068-C770-03D4-C31F-1001A9CB5B83\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_7\"><strong>&#8220;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 &#8216;Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song&#8217;; a Criterion Collection box set, &#8216;Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films,&#8217; next week; and a revival of his play &#8216;Ain&#8217;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,&#8217; slated for a return to Broadway next year.&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_DE6A1BEF-F07B-B942-D8BB-0FF8D4F7E52B\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_8\"><strong>Van Peebles was remembered in tributes Wednesday.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"el__leafmedia el__leafmedia--twitter\">\n<div class=\"twembed el-embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><strong>He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off. The man just absolutely LIVED <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IIpfU8wI7q\">pic.twitter.com\/IIpfU8wI7q<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BarryJenkins\/status\/1440789730891759616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 22, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_E4AC7E79-7E4F-F4B1-5823-10039FCCB4D8\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_9\"><strong>&#8220;Moonlight&#8221; director Barry Jenkins shared a memory of the last time the two filmmakers were together.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_799AF6BF-B775-38DD-0896-0FFA49DA6712\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_10\"><strong>&#8220;He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off,&#8221; Jenkins wrote in a tweet. &#8220;The man just absolutely LIVED.&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_799AF6BF-B775-38DD-0896-0FFA49DA6712\" data-act-id=\"paragraph_10\">\n<header class=\"product-detail-header\">\n<div class=\"product-detail-title\">\n<h1 class=\"header__primarytitle\">Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"product-summary\">\n<p><strong>Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary Melvin Van Peebles jolted American independent cinema to new life with his explosive stylistic energy and unfiltered expression of Black consciousness. Though he undeniably altered the course of film history with the anarchic <em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/em> that pop-culture bombshell is just one piece of a remarkably varied career that has also encompassed forays into European art cinema (<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/em>), mainstream Hollywood comedy (<em>Watermelon Man<\/em>), and Broadway musicals (<em>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/em>). Each facet of Van Peebles\u2019s renegade genius is on display in this collection of four films, a tribute to a transformative artist whose caustic social observation, radical formal innovation, and uncompromising vision established a new cinematic model for Black creative independence. Also included in the set is <em>Baadasssss!,<\/em> a chronicle of the production of <em>Sweet Sweetback<\/em> made by Van Peebles\u2019s son Mario Van Peebles\u2014and starring the younger Van Peebles as Melvin.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"filmdetail__support_img\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/product_images\/1986-9eb2ec160f0ddc7243114fb411c23519\/CYzMcNAogqAQ8h4PsZviojQVyF5FEi_original.jpg\" alt=\"Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"left\" data-sticky-column-left=\"\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"product__details_contain_a\" data-segment-analtyics-tracking=\"\" data-product-id=\"4787\" data-product-sku=\"\" data-product-name=\"Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films\" data-product-image-url=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/product_images\/1985-c922c8b30776c8d33634b40078a0e9b0\/814k8rt5cpr5UAmNgHWU4UGuF43skc_large.jpg\">\n<div class=\"sharetools sharetools-boxset \"><\/div>\n<section class=\"film-sets-list\" data-sticky-left-end=\"\" data-sticky-left-content-end=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"header_lvl2\"><strong>Films In This Set<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class=\"film-sets-contain\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"film-set\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/films\/868f3824e4fb1661f57b6dbd0e6cf92a\/Vs9AzREe1P9YLKGdfwecUn2PjBlTQg_small.jpg\" alt=\"The Story of a Three Day Pass\" \/><\/strong>\n<div class=\"film-set-content\">\n<p class=\"film-set-title\"><strong>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"film-set-year\"><strong>1967<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"film-set-descrip\">\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s edgy, angsty, romantic first feature could never have been made in America. Unable to break into segregated Hollywood, Van Peebles decamped to France, taught himself the language, and wrote a number of books in French, one of which, <em>La permission,<\/em> would become the stylistically innovative <em>The Story of a Three Day Pass.<\/em> Turner (Harry Baird), an African American soldier stationed in France, is granted a promotion and a three-day leave from base by his casually racist commanding officer and heads to Paris, where he finds whirlwind romance with a white woman (Nicole Berger)\u2014but what happens to their love when his furlough is over? Channeling the brash exuberance of the French New Wave, Van Peebles creates an exploration of the psychology of an interracial relationship as well as a commentary on France\u2019s contradictory attitudes about race that is playful, sarcastic, and stingingly subversive by turns, and that laid the foundation for the scorched-earth cinematic revolution he would let loose just a few years later.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"film-set\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/films\/0c501a3c29a18782d925bfd55fee19c3\/feNpxjpTQNQM7gYDZsB0KNItFGQASQ_small.jpg\" alt=\"Watermelon Man\" \/><\/strong>\n<div class=\"film-set-content\">\n<p class=\"film-set-title\"><strong>Watermelon Man<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"film-set-year\"><strong>1970<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"film-set-descrip\">\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s only foray into Hollywood filmmaking, <em>Watermelon Man<\/em> is one of the most audacious, radically conceived works to be financed by a major American studio in the 1970s. Comedian Godfrey Cambridge delivers a virtuoso performance (initially in whiteface) as Jeff Gerber, a loudmouthed, bigoted white insurance salesman whose sitcomlike suburban existence is jarringly upended when he wakes up to discover, in a wild spin on Franz Kafka\u2019s <em>The Metamorphosis<\/em>, that he has become a Black man. What ensues is a ferocious satire of society\u2019s racist double standards that gradually transforms into an empowering portrait of awakening Black consciousness, executed with a mix of acerbic irreverence and deadly serious political commentary by a relentlessly subversive Van Peebles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"film-set\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/films\/95ebf87290f77e1410d8a873b03dc1b7\/0W8nS4IPFCEVH4hoZmxy3fa5RzjrTs_small.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song\" \/><\/strong>\n<div class=\"film-set-content\">\n<p class=\"film-set-title\"><strong>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"film-set-year\"><strong>1971<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"film-set-descrip\">\n<p><strong>A landmark of Black and American independent cinema that would send shock waves through the culture, <em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em> was Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s second feature film, after he walked away from a contract with Columbia in order to make his next film on his own terms. Acting as producer, director, writer, composer, editor, and star, Van Peebles created the prototype for what Hollywood would eventually co-opt and make into the blaxploitation hero: a taciturn, perpetually blank-faced performer in a sex show, who, when he\u2019s pushed too far by a pair of racist cops looking to frame him for a crime he didn\u2019t commit, goes on the run through a lawless underground of bikers, revolutionaries, sex workers, and hippies in a kill-or-be-killed quest for liberation from white oppression. <em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em>\u2019s incendiary politics are matched by Van Peebles\u2019s revolutionary style, in which jagged jump cuts, kaleidoscopic superimpositions, and psychedelic sound design come together in a sustained howl of rage and defiance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"film-set\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/films\/27173c38907245b89d05bf30e69494fb\/czKr9S3bV9sJmjGbIPFXAjMlayWpVp_small.jpg\" alt=\"Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap\" \/><\/strong>\n<div class=\"film-set-content\">\n<p class=\"film-set-title\"><strong>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"film-set-year\"><strong>1972<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"film-set-descrip\">\n<p><strong>Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s film version of his own Tony Award\u2013nominated Broadway musical is a bold blend of theater and nervy, New Wave\u2013inflected cinematic invention. A cast of Black stage and screen luminaries including Esther Rolle, Mabel King, and Avon Long stars in this charmingly offbeat, fablelike fantasy in which a pair of mischief-making devil-bats dispatched by Satan assume human form in order to wreak havoc on a Saturday-night house party in Harlem\u2014only to find their diabolical plan thwarted by their hosts\u2019 infectious generosity of spirit. Staged with ebullience, the original blues- and gospel-infused songs by Van Peebles burst forth in a life-affirming celebration of Black joy, tenderness, resilience, and strength.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"right is-sticky-clone-shim\" data-sticky-column-right=\"\">\n<div class=\"right is-sticky-finished\" data-sticky-column-right=\"\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"product__details_contain_b\">\n<section class=\"purchase-options pk-c-purchase-options\" data-purchase-options=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"header_lvl2 pk-c-purchase-options__header\"><strong>Purchase Options<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class=\"pk-c-purchase-options__inventory-status-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"pk-c-purchase-options__inventory-status preorderText new-release\" data-inventory-status=\"\"><strong>Now Available<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<form action=\"#\">\n<fieldset class=\"purchase-buttons\">\n<div class=\"purchase-option\"><strong><input id=\"radio_2124\" class=\"radio\" checked=\"checked\" name=\"purchase-option\" type=\"radio\" value=\"3319\" data-film-id=\"4787\" data-release-id=\"2124\" data-inventory=\"{&quot;status&quot;:&quot;in-stock&quot;,&quot;available&quot;:&quot;Ships within 1-2 business days&quot;,&quot;ship_date&quot;:&quot;Sep 23, 2021&quot;,&quot;button_text&quot;:&quot;Add to Cart&quot;,&quot;new_release&quot;:false}\" data-inventory-status-updater=\"{ &quot;event&quot;: &quot;click&quot;, &quot;target&quot; : &quot;[data-inventory-status]&quot; }\" data-collection-info=\"\" \/> <label class=\"\" for=\"radio_2124\"> <span class=\"meta-item\"> <span class=\"item\">Blu-Ray<\/span> <span class=\"item-descrip\">5 Discs<\/span> <\/span> <span class=\"meta-prices\"> <span class=\"item-price\"> $99.96 <\/span> <span class=\"item-price-srp\"> <abbr class=\"strike\" title=\"Suggested Retail Price\">SRP:<\/abbr> <span class=\"strike\">$124.95<\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/label><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n<fieldset class=\"purchase-behaviors\"><\/fieldset>\n<\/form>\n<\/section>\n<aside class=\"film-streaming collapse full streaming-services-count-0\" data-sticky-right-end=\"\" data-sticky-right-content-end=\"\">\n<div class=\"collapse-contain\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"product-box-art\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/criterion-production\/product_images\/1985-c922c8b30776c8d33634b40078a0e9b0\/814k8rt5cpr5UAmNgHWU4UGuF43skc_large.jpg\" alt=\"Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-container product-primary-content-container\">\n<div class=\"content-left\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"film-gallery\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<article class=\"product__details\" data-sticky-columns=\"\">\n<section class=\"product-features product-features-set collapse\">\n<div class=\"collapse-contain content-container\">\n<div class=\"max-width-container\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h4 class=\"header_lvl2 hideSmall\"><strong>SPECIAL FEATURES<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New 4K digital restorations of all four films, approved by filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks for <i>The Story of a Three Day Pass, Watermelon Man,<\/i> and <i>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/i> and 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for <i>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Baadasssss!,<\/i> a 2003 fictional feature film based on director Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s diaries from the making of <i>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/i> directed by and starring his son Mario Van Peebles, with commentary by father and son<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>New conversations between Mario Van Peebles and film critic Elvis Mitchell; producer Warrington Hudlin and critic and filmmaker Nelson George; and scholars Amy Abugo Ongiri, Gerald R. Butters Jr., and Novotny Lawrence<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Audio commentary by Melvin Van Peebles from 1997 on <i>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Three short films by Melvin Van Peebles: <em>Sunlight<\/em> (1957), <em>Three Pickup Men for Herrick<\/em> (1957), and <em>Les cinq cent balles<\/em> (1961)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It),<\/i> a 2005 documentary on Van Peebles\u2019s life and career<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>The Story Behind \u201cBaadasssss!\u201d: The Birth of Black Cinema,<\/i> a 2004 featurette<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><i>Melvin Van Peebles: The Real Deal,<\/i> a 2002 interview with the director on the making of <i>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Episodes of <i>Black Journal<\/i> from 1968, 1971, and 1972, on <i>The Story of a Three Day Pass, Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/i> and <i>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Interview from 1971 with Van Peebles on <i>Detroit Tubeworks <\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>French television interview from 1968 with Van Peebles and actors Harry Baird and Nicole Berger on the set of <i>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Excerpts from a 2004 interview with Van Peebles for the Directors Guild of America Visual History Program<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Introductions to all four films by Van Peebles<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Trailers<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>New English subtitle translation for <i>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/i><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>PLUS: A book featuring essays by film scholars Racquel J. Gates, Allyson Nadia Field, Michael B. Gillespie, and Lisa B. Thompson <\/strong>\n<div class=\"css-46b038\">\n<ol data-testid=\"search-results\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\">Melvin Van Peebles, Champion of New Black Cinema, Dies at 89<\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>A fertile creative force, he wrote fiction and musicals but is best known for a breakthrough movie that heralded the genre known as blaxploitation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Douglas Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/22\/movies\/melvin-van-peebles-champion-of-new-black-cinema-dies-at-89.html?searchResultPosition=1\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>Melvin Van Peebles, 89, Known as a Godfather Of Black Cinema, Dies<span class=\"css-1t2tqhf\">|<\/span>September 23, 2021, Page A1<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"css-tap2ym\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-rq4mmj\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 120px, (max-width: 1024px) 165px, 205px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-thumbWide.jpg 190w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-videoThumb.jpg 75w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-videoLarge.jpg 768w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mediumThreeByTwo210.jpg 210w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mediumThreeByTwo225.jpg 225w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg 440w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mediumThreeByTwo252.jpg 252w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-mediumThreeByTwo378.jpg 378w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg 3888w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg 1500w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/09\/23\/obituaries\/22Van-Peebles1-print1\/merlin_32600248_137f733a-981b-493d-87db-0a5e4a027c51-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg 600w\" alt=\"The filmmaker, author and actor Melvin Van Peebles in his apartment in Manhattan in 2010. In his work he spoke out of an &amp;ldquo;undeniable Black consciousness,&amp;rdquo; one critic wrote.\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-13o4bnb e18f7pbr0\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"May 6\">May 6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Movies<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>The Film That Made \u2018Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song\u2019 Possible<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles had to go to France to make \u201cThe Story of a Three Day Pass,\u201d the tale of a Black soldier on leave that\u2019s full of bold directorial choices.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Nicolas Rapold<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/06\/movies\/van-peebles-three-day-pass.html?searchResultPosition=2\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>A Trailblazer\u2019s Romantic Idyll, Filled With Racism\u2019s Thorns<span class=\"css-1t2tqhf\">|<\/span>May 7, 2021, Page C12<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"css-tap2ym\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-rq4mmj\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 120px, (max-width: 1024px) 165px, 205px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-thumbWide.jpg 190w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-videoThumb.jpg 75w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-videoLarge.jpg 768w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-mediumThreeByTwo210.jpg 210w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-mediumThreeByTwo225.jpg 225w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg 440w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-mediumThreeByTwo252.jpg 252w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-mediumThreeByTwo378.jpg 378w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg 932w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg 932w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/05\/07\/arts\/06three-day-pass1\/06three-day-pass1-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg 600w\" alt=\"Nicole Berger and Harry Baird in Melvin Van Peebles&amp;rsquo;s debut feature.\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-13o4bnb e18f7pbr0\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"March 23\">March 23<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Theater<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>\u2018Ain\u2019t Supposed to Die\u2019 Plans a Broadway Return<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>The 1971 Melvin Van Peebles musical, about Black life in a low-income neighborhood, is a dream project for the director Kenny Leon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Michael Paulson<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/23\/theater\/aint-supposed-to-die-van-peebles-broadway.html?searchResultPosition=3\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>A Pioneering Black Musical Plans a Return to Broadway<span class=\"css-1t2tqhf\">|<\/span>March 24, 2021, Page C5<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"css-tap2ym\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-rq4mmj\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 120px, (max-width: 1024px) 165px, 205px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-thumbWide.jpg 190w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-videoThumb.jpg 75w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-videoLarge.jpg 768w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-mediumThreeByTwo210.jpg 210w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-mediumThreeByTwo225.jpg 225w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg 440w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-mediumThreeByTwo252.jpg 252w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-mediumThreeByTwo378.jpg 378w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg 3194w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg 1500w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/03\/24\/arts\/23aint-1\/23aint-1-threeByTwoSmallAt2X.jpg 600w\" alt=\"Mario Van Peebles, left, is the creative producer of a planned revival of &amp;ldquo;Ain&amp;rsquo;t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,&amp;rdquo; a 1971 show with book, music and lyrics by his father, Melvin Van Peebles.\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-13o4bnb e18f7pbr0\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"February 18, 1988\">Feb. 18, 1988<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Home &amp; Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles: Original Notes In a Spare Space<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Suzanne Slesin<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1988\/02\/18\/garden\/melvin-van-peebles-original-notes-in-a-spare-space.html?searchResultPosition=4\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>February 18, 1988, Page C00001<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1yvwzdo\">\n<div class=\"css-142l3g4\">\n<h3 class=\"css-131kqdc\"><strong>Advertisement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/search?query=Van+Peebles%252C+Melvin#after-dfp-ad-mid1\">Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad-mid1\" class=\"ad dfp-ad-mid1-wrapper\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"after-dfp-ad-mid1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1bdu3ax\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"August 1, 2008\">Aug. 1, 2008<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Theater Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Van Peebles\u2019s Street Serenade<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>The pimps and whores and crooked cops of Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s show reign uptown in a lively Classical Theater of Harlem production.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Rachel Saltz<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/08\/01\/theater\/reviews\/01aint.html?searchResultPosition=5\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>Page E3<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"November 12, 1967\">Nov. 12, 1967<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Archives<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Movies; An American Who Went to Paris<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>Int<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Judy Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1967\/11\/12\/archives\/movies-an-american-who-went-to-paris.html?searchResultPosition=6\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>November 12, 1967, Page Arts &amp; Leisure147<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"June 22, 1990\">June 22, 1990<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Movies<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles Retrospective<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Stephen Holden<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/06\/22\/movies\/melvin-van-peebles-retrospective.html?searchResultPosition=7\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>June 22, 1990, Page C00010<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"June 26, 2002\">June 26, 2002<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Style<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Melvin Van Peebles and his pals<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>An evening titled &#8220;Melvin Van Peebles et Ses Potes&#8221; (and His Pals) featuring Van Peebles&#8217;s own songs, along with gospel, rhythm and blues and jazz adaptations of the songs of the 19th-century cabaret artist Aristide Bruant will be presented at t<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/06\/26\/style\/IHT-melvin-van-peebles-and-his-pals.html?searchResultPosition=8\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>June 26, 2002<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"October 6, 1968\">Oct. 6, 1968<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Archives<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>Reader&#8217;s Report<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-16nhkrn\"><strong>Hardman, Ric: Fifteen Flags<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\"><strong>By Martin Levin<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1rq7uyl\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1968\/10\/06\/archives\/readers-report.html?searchResultPosition=9\"><span class=\"css-bc0f0m\"><span class=\"css-h4mf4\">PRINT EDITION<\/span>October 6, 1968, Page BR40<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1l4w6pd\" data-testid=\"search-bodega-result\">\n<div class=\"css-1kl114x\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"css-17ubb9w\" data-testid=\"todays-date\" aria-label=\"July 16, 1984\">July 16, 1984<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1i8vfl5\">\n<div class=\"css-e1lvw9\">\n<p class=\"css-myxawk\"><strong>Arts<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"css-2fgx4k\"><strong>THEATER: &#8216;STORK BOOGIE,&#8217; BY MELVIN VAN PEEBLES<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"css-15w69y9\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"css-1xl7hww\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1t62hi8\">\n<div class=\"css-vsuiox\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<footer class=\"global-footer\" data-scrollify=\"\">\n<div class=\"site-footer-contain\">\n<div class=\"logo-c-foot\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div data-react-id=\"3\">\n<div id=\"footer-wrap\" data-zjs-campaign=\"footer-wrapper\" data-act-id=\"copyright_0\">\n<footer id=\"footer-nav-container\" class=\"sc-kkGfuU dJsERJ\" data-test=\"mode\">\n<div class=\"Grid-sc-1kcyc0j-0 hFujui\">\n<div class=\"Cell-i0zvfi-0 laaVcq\">\n<form class=\"sc-dxgOiQ cDylkZ\" action=\"\/search\" name=\"q\"><\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Giant Of Black Cinema, Melvin Van Peebles Dies At 89\u00a0 Melvin Van Peebles at a 2018 film festival in Hollywood. Influential director Melvin Van Peebles died on Tuesday night at home in Manhattan. The 89-year-old director was best known for his independent films Watermelon Man (1970) and Sweet Sweetback&#8217;s Baadasssss Song (1971). He was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,11,8,1314,1456,13,14,12,9,10],"tags":[4776,4769,4771,4773,2197,4775,4774,4777,4768,4770,4772],"class_list":["post-22423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-health","category-most-commented","category-scitech","category-us","category-world","tag-mel_vanpeebles","tag-1932-chicago","tag-2021-aged-89-new-york-city","tag-block-occupation-actor-director-screenwriter-playwright-composer-years-active-1955-2021-spouses-maria-marx-children-mario-van-peebles","tag-illinois","tag-max-van-peebles","tag-megan-van-peebles","tag-melvin-van-peebles","tag-melvin-van-peebles-lozupone-melvinvanpeebles2015-png-van-peebles-in-december-2015-born-melvin-peebles-august-21","tag-u-s-died-september-21","tag-u-s-other-names-brer-soul","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}