Melvin Van Peebles, praised as the godfather of modern Black cinema and a trailblazer in American independent movies, died last month at his home in Manhattan. He was 89. His son, the actor, Mario Van Peebles, announced his death.
Van Peebles was multi-talented to the extreme. In addition to writing novels and musicals and directing plays and movies, he was 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, and a visual artist.
Continue reading Melvin Van Peoples – Pioneering Renaissance Man at The New Journal and Guide.
