Gordon Parks, director of 'Shaft,' dies

NEW YORK -- Gordon Parks, who captured the struggles and triumphs of black America as a photographer for Life magazine and then became Hollywood's first major black director with "The Learning Tree" and the hit "Shaft," died Tuesday, a family member said. He was 93.

Parks, who also wrote fiction and was an accomplished composer, died in New York, said his nephew, Charles Parks.

He covered everything from fashion to politics to sports during his 20 years at Life, from 1948 to 1968.

"The Learning Tree" was Parks' first film, in 1969. It was based on his 1963 autobiographical novel of the same name.

The detective drama "Shaft," which came out in 1971 and starred Richard Roundtree, was a major hit and spawned a series of black-oriented films. Parks himself directed a sequel, "Shaft's Big Score," in 1972.