Chadwick Boseman, star of Black Panther, dies at 43

Entertainment on Saturday, August 29, 2020

Source: edition.cnn.com

2020-08-29

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Actor Chadwick Boseman, who brought the movie “Black Panther” to life with his charismatic intensity and majestic performance, has passed away.

Boseman has battled colon cancer since 2016 and died at home with his family and wife by his side, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account. He was 43 years old.

“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, bringing you many of the films you have come to love so much,” the statement said.

“From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several others, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

With his role as King T’Challa in the border-breaking film “Black Panther,” he became a global icon and an inspiring symbol of black power. That role was the “honor of (Boseman’s) career,” the statement said.

Graduated from Howard University

A native of South Carolina, Boseman graduated in 2000 from Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, DC. While there, he also attended the British American Drama Academy at Oxford in 1998.

“It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of former student Chadwick Boseman, who passed away tonight. His incredible talent will be forever immortalized through his characters and his own personal journey from student to superhero! Rest in power, Chadwick! ” University president Wayne AI Frederick said in a statement.

Boseman’s big performance came in 2013 when he played Jackie Robinson in the movie “42.”

“Her momentous performance in ’42’ will stand the test of time and serve as a powerful vehicle for telling Jackie’s story to audiences for generations to come,” Major League Baseball tweeted on Friday.

Boseman made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2016 as T’Challa / Black Panther in “Captain America: Civil War. Black Panther then got his own standalone film that opened in 2018, which broke box office records. The president of Marvel Studios. He had announced that the second film in the “Black Panther” series would debut in theaters in May 2022.

Chadwick Boseman appears as T’Challa in “Black Panther”.

The actor starred in other films, including playing James Brown in “Get On Up” and Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.”

Boseman returned to his alma mater in 2018 to give the commencement speech. He told graduates about his early days acting in soap operas, saying he was fired from an anonymous production after questioning what he felt was his stereotypical portrayal of black characters.

“The struggles along the way are only meant to shape it for its purpose,” he said at the time.

He concluded with his iconic “Wakanda Forever” greeting.

‘A superhero for many’

Boseman “brought history to life” with his papers, Martin Luther King III said.
“Like Black Panther, he was also a superhero to many,” he wrote on Twitter. “And despite his 4-year battle with cancer, he continued to fight and inspire. We will miss him.”

The NAACP also paid tribute to the actor, saying that Boseman showed us “how to overcome adversity with grace.”

“For showing us how ‘Say it out loud!’ For (showing us) how to walk like a King, without losing the common touch. For showing us how powerful we are, “said his Instagram statement. “Thank you #ChadwickBoseman.”

Sen. Kamala Harris, who also attended Howard, said she was heartbroken over Boseman’s death.

“My friend and partner Bison Chadwick Boseman was brilliant, kind, knowledgeable and humble,” he tweeted. “He left too early, but his life made a difference. I send my sincere condolences to his family.”

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who starred alongside Boseman in Marvel movies like Hulk, said death adds to the growing list of tragedies in 2020.

“What a man and what an immense talent,” Ruffalo tweeted. “Brother, you were one of the greats of all time and your greatness was just beginning. Lord, I love you. Rest in power, King.”