‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman dies of colon cancer at 43: A look at his early life and film legacy
‘Black Panther’ actor Chadwick Boseman, who earlier played icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before entering the Marvel cinematic universe, died Friday of cancer at 43, his representative said.
Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press. The actor was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said in the statement. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more- all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in 'Black Panther'.”
Born on November 29, 1976, Chadwick was raised in Anderson, South Carolina, to African American parents, Carolyn — who was a nurse — and Leroy Boseman — who was a textile factory businessman. His ancestral roots traced to Krio people from Sierra Leone, Yoruba people from Nigeria and Limba people from Sierra Leone. After graduating from TL Hanna High School in 1995, did you know he wrote his first play 'Crossroads' in junior high in tribute to a classmate who was shot and killed? As per reports, Boseman attended college at Howard University in Washington, DC, and Phylicia Rashad was one of his teachers at that point. Once back in the US, he graduated from New York City's Digital Film Academy and started making ends meet by working as a drama instructor.
Boseman initially started with parts in TV shows like 'Law & Order', 'CSI:NY', 'ER' and ' Persons Unknown'. Not long after, he clinched his first major role in the 2013 film '42' where he essayed the baseball pioneer and star, Jackie Robinson. The actor was also hailed for his personification of James Brown in 'Get on Up' (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in 'Marshall' (2017).
In 2016, he portrayed the Marvel character T'Challa/Black Panther first in 'Captain America: Civil War' which was a part of the five-picture deal with Marvel. In 2018, his character Black Panther became a rage as superhero buffs couldn't stop talking about it. The movie put the spotlight on his home country of Wakanda in Africa and soon became one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the United States. He was later seen in both 'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018) and 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019). Boseman was last seen in the Netflix war drama film 'Da 5 Bloods', directed by Spike Lee — which hit the screen on June 12, 2020.
Boseman died in his home, with his wife and family by his side. The family thanked fans for their "love and prayers" and asked to "respect their privacy during this difficult time."