We were told that transcendent director John Singleton died of a massive stroke at the famed Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
What we did not know was that the death on the birth certificate, obtained by TMZ, showed that the Boyz N the Hood writer and director had passed away on April 28, 2019, one day earlier than the family had announced to the world that he was gone. He was 51 years old.
The official cause of death, as stated by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, was acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage and hypertension. He died at 3:30 p.m. after being taken off life support. He had slipped into a coma for about a week after checking himself into the hospital with weakness in one of his legs. He had just returned from a trip to Costa Rica.
Of course, Singleton was listed on the death certificate as a writer, director and producer.
Family members hosted a very small, intimate and private funeral, at the Angelus Funeral Home in South Los Angeles. Formerly known as “South Central L.A.,” Singleton spent part of his childhood there and created the career-defining Boyz N the Hood film, as reported by People magazine.
The affair was attended by Singleton’s closest family members and friends whom the director helped break in the movie and filmmaking business. This included Ice Cube, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth Carter, venerated Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray, Tina Knowles Lawson and actor-husband Richard, NFL icon Jim Brown, rapper Ludacris, and actors Ving Rhames, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long and Tyrese. Taraji P. Henson, who made the easy decision to skip out on her planned attendance at the Met Gala in New York, was also in attendance.
Singleton is survived by his mother, Sheila, and his seven children: daughters Justice, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis, and sons Maasai and Seven.
A larger and more public send-off for Singleton is planned in the coming weeks, family reps told the Los Angeles Times.
