SHAFT & SUPERFLY:

“Shaft,” was a breakthrough film by Gordon Parks, Sr.  John Shaft, portrayed by Richard Roundtree, was the first black film hero and the soundtrack featuring Issac Hayes sold millions. The film would be a major hit and would spawn two sequels, “Shaft’s Big Score,” and “Shaft In Africa,” along with a series of blaxploitation films.

In 2000, 'The Library Of Congress' deemed “Shaft,” to be “culturally significant,” selecting it for NFR preservation.  Gordon Parks’ son, Gordon Jr., was also a filmmaker; he and his dad had a friendly competition.  He wanted to outdo his dad and he had just the film, “Superfly.”

Everyone was surprised by the success of ‘Superfly,’ and Jr. did outdo his father in gross receipts. 

Gordon Parks, Jr. would die in a plane crash in Kenya in 1979 and Gordon Parks, Sr. recently died at the age of 93. 

A father and son are responsible for the two biggest blaxploitation films ever made.