Filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles has passed away

Groundbreaking filmmaker and actor Melvin Van Peebles passed away this week at the age of 89. Melvin was also the father of director and actor Mario Van Peebles, with whom he teamed with in writing and directing the movie Panther in 1995.

The elder Van Peebles was an influential director and the man behind “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song,” a groundbreaking independent film that he financed and released, which paved the way for indie cinema, feature-length or short films made without a major studio or big production company attached. 

Van Peebles proved that films by Black filmmakers about Black life in America could be a profitable endeavor. Because he couldn’t afford a traditional marketing campaign, he used the film’s soundtrack album to build awareness for the movie. 

Van Peebles wrote and directed “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” dedicating the film to “all of the Black brothers and sisters who have had enough of the Man.” Van Peebles starred as the title character. 

Multi-talented Van Peebles was also a playwright, painter, novelist, and composer. “Sweetback,” “Shaft,” and “Superfly,” directed by Gordon Parks Jr., are generally regarded as having given birth to the Blaxploitation genre. 

His movie making success paved the way for others such as Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay, Oscar winner Spike Lee, and Tyler Perry, among others.

DuVernay paid tribute with a favorite quote of Van Peebles’: “You have to not let yourself believe you can’t. Do what you can do within the framework you have. And don’t look outside. Look inside.”

Warrington Hudlin, founder of the Black Filmmaker Foundation, said about Van Peebles, “As the Godfather of Black Cinema, he left us with both the inspiration and challenge to continue his artistic and racial disruption of the society we were born into. And he likely continues that provocation in the next life.”

The Criterion Collection said of Van Peebles, “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.” 

For a 50th anniversary tribute “Sweet Sweetback” was screened last week at the New York Film Festival. 

In addition to numerous films Melvin directed, he often teamed up with son Mario on films including “Identity Crisis,” “Posse,” “Panther” and “Love Kills. 

Melvin also acted in the work of others, appearing in the 1991 feature comedy “True Identity”; Reginald Hudlin’s Eddie Murphy vehicle “Boomerang” (1992); big-budget Arnold Schwarzenegger action film “Last Action Hero” (1993); Charlie Sheen action film “Terminal Velocity” (1994); 2003 comedy “The Hebrew Hammer,” in which Melvin reprised the role of Sweetback and Mario also appeared; and Tina Gordon Chism’s 2013 romantic comedy “Peeples,” in which he played Grandpa Peeples.

Melvin was born in Chicago in 1932. He attended West Virginia State College and then Ohio Wesleyan University, where he earned a B.A. in English literature. Van Peebles is said to have lived a dozen or more different lives: U.S. Air Force veteran, San Francisco streetcar worker, prolific writer, and maker of short films.

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

In addition to Mario, he is survived by son Max, daughter Marguerite, and several grandchildren.