Gordon Parks: Pioneering Photographer and Film Director Dies at 93

Gordon Parks was an American photographer, writer, composer and film director. Born on November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, he was the youngest of 15 children.

He documented civil rights and poverty for the Farm Security Administration and Life magazine, and directed The Learning Tree (1969) and Shaft (1971), becoming the first Black director of a major Hollywood studio film. His photo "American Gothic, Washington, D.C." (1942) became an icon.

Parks received the Spingarn Medal (1972) and the National Medal of Arts (1988). He was married three times and had four children, including filmmaker Gordon Parks Jr., who died in a 1979 plane crash in Kenya. Parks died in New York City on March 7, 2006, at age 93.

Achievements: Spingarn Medal (1972), National Medal of Arts (1988), director of Shaft.

Birth: November 30, 1912 - Fort Scott, Kansas.

Profession: Photographer and film director.

Interesting Facts: The Sesame Street character Gordon is named after him.