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John Shaft is a fictional character created by author/screenwriter Ernest Tidyman for the 1970 novel of the same name. He was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in the original 1971 film and in its four sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), Shaft (2000) and Shaft (2019), and the seven 1973–74 Shaft television films, with Samuel L. Jackson portraying his son (introduced as his nephew), named John Shaft II, in Shaft (2000) and Shaft (2019), and Jessie Usher portraying the character's grandson (named John "J.J." Shaft Jr.) in Shaft (2019). The blurb on the paperback on which the original film is based states Shaft is "Hotter than Bond, cooler than Bullitt."[1]

John Shaft
Richard Roundtree as John Shaft in 1971
First appearanceShaft (1970)
Last appearanceShaft (2019)
Created byErnest Tidyman
Portrayed byRichard Roundtree
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPrivate investigator
FamilyJohn Shaft II (son)
John "JJ" Shaft III (grandson)
NationalityAmerican

Fictional biography



Abilities


John Shaft's weapon of choice is a Smith & Wesson Model 36, Beretta 92FS or an M1911 pistol. Shaft is also a practitioner of several styles of martial arts that includes western Boxing, Wing Chun, Judo, Jujitsu, Shotokan, and Kyokushin Karate.


Shaft franchise



Novel series


The franchise began with the novel Shaft, which provides a much more detailed backstory for John Shaft than the one seen in the film series. All of the books in the original 1970s series are credited solely to Shaft creator Ernest Tidyman, but from Shaft's Big Score onward Tidyman wrote them with assistance from ghostwriters Robert Turner and Philip Rock.[2]


Recurring relationships in the novels and films


Comic strip


Between the release of the first Shaft film and the novel Shaft Among the Jews, Tidyman began developing a Shaft daily syndicated newspaper comic strip.[2] He commissioned artist Don Rico, with whom he produced 24 sample strips, but despite the character's popularity in both novels and films he was unable to find a syndicate interested in distributing the Shaft strip, which remains unpublished.[2]


Comic book series


The Shaft! comic book was published by Dynamite Entertainment, written by David F. Walker and illustrated by Bilquis Evely, beginning in December 2014. New stories following young John Shaft's earliest adventures were adapted closely from the Ernest Tidyman novels.[5]


Film and television franchise



Film series

Year Title Starring
1971 Shaft Richard Roundtree as John Shaft
1972 Shaft's Big Score!
1973 Shaft in Africa
2000 Shaft Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft (John Shaft II)

Richard Roundtree as (Uncle) John Shaft (John Shaft I)

2019 Shaft Jessie Usher as J.J. Shaft (estranged son of John Shaft and grandson of John Shaft, Sr., John Shaft III)

Richard Roundtree as John Shaft Sr. (John Shaft I)


Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft (son of John Shaft Sr., retcon, John Shaft II)


Television films

The television show ran from 1973 to 1974, with Richard Roundtree reprising the role of John Shaft. There were seven 90-minute movies, part of the New CBS Tuesday Night Movies, rotating with Hawkins, which starred James Stewart.


Cast and characters

List indicator(s)
Character Film Television
Shaft Shaft's Big Score! Shaft in Africa Shaft Shaft Shaft
1971 1972 1973 2000 2019 1973–1974
John Shaft
(a.k.a. John Shaft Sr., John Shaft I)
Richard Roundtree
Bumpy Jonas Moses Gunn
John Shaft
(a.k.a. John Shaft II)
Samuel L. Jackson
J.J. Shaft
(a.k.a. John Shaft III)
Jessie Usher

John Shaft in other media



Parodies in other films



Reception


The character has had a mostly positive response.[7][8][9]


Literary references



References


  1. Rea, Steven (2000-06-18). "Shaft's Big Lure: He May Not Be A Sex Machine Anymore, But We Can Still Dig Him. As 'Shaft' Goes The Major-motion-picture Route, Black Artists Reflect On His '70s 'blaxploitation' Roots". Articles.philly.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  2. Walker, David F. (August 2020). "Fifty Years of Shaft". RetroFan. United States: TwoMorrows Publishing (10): 3–10.
  3. Posted on (2014-12-03). "Shaft's Revenge - Preview Of The Prose Novel By David F. Walker". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  4. "New SHAFT series and SHAFT'S REVENGE novel to be released February 2016". www.comiclist.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-09.
  5. Ching, Albert (September 16, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Walker Promises A "More Badass" Shaft in The Character's Comics Debut". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  6. Buchanan, Kyle (July 14, 2012). "Comic-Con: Quentin Tarantino Thinks Django Unchained Could Be a Shaft Prequel". vulture.com. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  7. Klemesrud, Judy (1972-03-12). "Shaft -- 'A Black Man Who Is For Once a Winner'". The New York Times.
  8. Mitchell, Elvis (2000-04-30). "SUMMER FILMS: BLAXPLOITATION; A Black Gumshoe Who Built a Genre Is Back on the Job". The New York Times.
  9. Riley, Clayton (1971-07-25). "A Black Movie for White Audiences?; A Black Critic's View of 'Shaft'". The New York Times.



На других языках


- [en] John Shaft

[fr] John Shaft

John Shaft est un détective privé de fiction créé par l'écrivain Ernest Tidyman dans le roman Shaft, publié en 1970 aux États-Unis.

[it] John Shaft

John Shaft è un personaggio immaginario letterario, cinematografico e televisivo, protagonista di sette romanzi, cinque film e una serie televisiva.



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