John Singleton, ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ and ‘Boyz n the Hood’ Director, Will Be Removed from Life Support

The family of director John Singleton has announced that he will be removed from life support, after suffering a stroke.

The filmmaker, who made movies such as 2 Fast 2 Furious and Boyz n the Hood, has been hospitalized for nearly two weeks, and now The Wrap reports that his family has made the difficult decision to take him off of life support machines.

“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our beloved son, father and friend, John Daniel Singleton will be taken off of life support today,” a statement from the Singleton family read. “This was an agonizing decision, one that our family made, over a number of days, with the careful counsel of John’s doctors.”

“John grew up in South Central L.A with a love of cinema that showed itself early on. He went on to become one of the most lauded graduates of the USC School of Cinematic Arts,” the statement continued. “Within months of graduating, John returned to South Central to shoot his debut feature, Boyz N the Hood. The movie, which was unusually shot in sequence, masterfully captured a story of friendship, youth and the peril of hard choices in a community marred by gang violence.”

“The film earned special honors at its debut at Cannes and Singleton went onto become the youngest director and first African-American writer-director nominated for the Academy Award,” the statement added. “Two decades later, the film was placed in the Library of Congress, a marker of its cultural and historical significance.”

“John was such a supernova in his youth that we forget that he was only beginning to fully assert his gifts as a director. Kurosawa was 52 when he directed High Low. Hitchcock was 56 when he directed To Catch a Thief. As much as we will treasure his body of work, we were looking forward to the films John would have made in the years ahead,” the statement went on to say.

“John’s confidence in his place in Hollywood was only matched for his passion for the sea. John kayaked in Marina Del Rey every morning. His greatest joy, when not on set, was sailing his boat, J’s Dream, up and down the Pacific Coast,” the statement also read. “The American writer Willa Cather once said, “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in the storm.” We who have grown up with John, made movies with him, sailed with John and laughed with John, know the universe of calm and creativity he created for so many. Now in the wake of his death, we must navigate the storm without him. It is, for us, heartbreaking.

The family statement also referenced Singleton’s possible cause of death, saying, “Like many African Americans, Singleton quietly struggled with hypertension. More than 40% of African American men and women have high blood pressure, which also develops earlier in life and is usually more severe. His family wants to share the message with all to please recognize the symptoms by going toHeart.org”

The full family statement is available to read at The Wrap link above.