Gordon Roger Parks Jr. (December 7, 1934April 3, 1979) was an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, best known for the 1972 film '' Super Fly''.

Life and career

Parks was born to Sally Alvis and photographer and director

Gordon Parks Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, and film director, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particu ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1934. The younger Parks followed in his father's footsteps after his father had success with the

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

hit ''

Shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

'' (1971). Parks was killed with three others when their small airplane crashed after takeoff near

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, where they had gone to make a film."Filmmaker Gordon Parks; victim of airplane crash"
''The Day'', April 3, 1979. He was 44 years old.

Filmography

*'' Super Fly'' (1972) *'' Three the Hard Way'' (1974) *''

Thomasine & Bushrod ''Thomasine & Bushrod'' is a 1974 Western film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., written by and starring Max Julien and Vonetta McGee and was released by Columbia Pictures. The title song was written by Arthur Lee and performed by his band Love. ...

'' (1974) *''

Aaron Loves Angela ''Aaron Loves Angela'' is a 1975 American comedy-drama film written by Gerald Sanford and directed by Gordon Parks Jr. It stars Moses Gunn, Kevin Hooks and Irene Cara. Plot A modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's '' Romeo and Juliet'', the ...

'' (1975) *''The Bushtrackers'' (1980) (started filming 1979 as ''Revenge''; Gary Strieker finished)

References

External links

*
Getty Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Gordon Jr. 1934 births 1979 deaths African-American film directors Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Kenya Blaxploitation film directors Film directors from Minnesota 20th-century African-American people