The Resume

(November 30, 1912-March 7, 2006)
Died in New York
Photographer for Life Magazine (1948-1968)
Director of 'The Learning Tree (1969),' 'Shaft (1971),' 'Shaft's Big Score! (1972),' 'The Super Cops (1974)' and 'Leadbelly (1976)'
Subject of the documentary 'Half Past Autumn (2000)'
Inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum (2002)
Died at 93

Why he might be annoying:

He was the youngest of 15 children.
He had 2 middle names.
He was thrice divorced.
He played piano in a Minnesota brothel.
His film 'Shaft' helped initiate the blaxploitation genre of the 1970s.

Why he might not be annoying:

In the 1940s, he was hired by Life Magazine when the rival Hearst Organization refused to give a photography job to a black man.
He was best known for his photo essays covering the American civil rights movement and worldwide poverty.
His son, 'Superfly' director Gordon Parks, Jr., was killed in a plane crash in 1979.
'The Learning Tree' was one of the first 25 films placed on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1989.
He was also a poet, activist, musician, and composer.

Credit: Black Chic

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Artsy/Fartsy Directors
• BC/Black Chic's Profiles [Series 03]
• Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Members and Honorees [1973-2005] (Ranked: 1973)
• Blaxploitation Film Stars
• Directors Who Did Not Attend Film School
• I am from Kansas
• I Did Not Graduate High School [N-S]
• I Died in 2006 (Ranked: 93)
• I Have Prostate Cancer
• I Married Outside My Race
• I Named My Kid After Myself
• I Outlived My Child
• I Was Homeless
• Miss Universe Judges (Ranked: 1977)
• Photographers
• Profiles 17251-17500 (Ranked: 17486)
• Spingarn Medal Winners (Ranked: 1972)
• Time's 100 Most Influential Photos of All Time [2016] (Ranked: 29)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 77 Votes: 41.56% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 28 Votes: 32.14% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 26 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 30 Votes: 36.67% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 39 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 75 Votes: 62.67% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 268 Votes: 43.28% Annoying