Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman has died

Tributes have poured in for Black Panther star and lead actor, Chadwick Boseman who has loss a 4-year battle with colon cancer.

The actor, 43, kept his diagnoses out of the public eye and is said to have been surrounded by his family in his Los Angeles home when he died.

Boseman was diagnosed in 2016 with stage 3 colon cancer and continued to work through multiple surgeries and chemo-therapy.

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— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020

Life and times:

Boseman appeared as T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War in 2016 and then in 2018 took the lead in Black Panther, which was set in the fictional country of Wakanda.

The movie went on to become a cult classic in cinemas globally and included numerous South African acts such as Connie Chiume, and Atandwa and John Kani.

Black Panther became one of the highest grossing films ever in the US.

Boseman is currently in Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods directed by Spike Lee.

The actor started his career in shows such as Third Watch and All My Children before rising to notoriety when he starred in 42, playing baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Connection to Denzel Washington

According to various reports, it is believed that Denzel Washington paid for Boseman to take drama lessons at Balliol College at Oxford University.

In 2019, the actor paid tribute to Washington in a moving speech at The American Film Institute for the AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

In his tribute Boseman said: “there is no BLACK PANTHER without Denzel Washington. And not just because of me. My whole cast, that generation, stands on your shoulders.”

Tributes

From fans to fellow cast, tributes have poured in for the actor. Including from Angela Basset, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo.

I’m absolutely devastated. This is beyond heartbreaking.

Chadwick was special. A true original. He was a deeply committed and constantly curious artist. He had so much amazing work still left to create. I’m endlessly grateful for our friendship. Rest in power, King???? pic.twitter.com/oBERXlw66Z

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) August 29, 2020

 

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Such a sad loss. Craziest thing when you figure you’ll see someone again, and then suddenly, you know you won’t. Every day alive merits gratitude.

A post shared by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitrecordjoe) on Aug 28, 2020 at 9:08pm PDT

Heartbroken. My friend and fellow Bison Chadwick Boseman was brilliant, kind, learned, and humble. He left too early but his life made a difference. Sending my sincere condolences to his family. pic.twitter.com/C5xGkUi9oZ

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 29, 2020

 

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“It was meant to be for Chadwick and me to be connected, for us to be family. But what many don’t know is our story began long before his historic turn as Black Panther. During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day. And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever! We’d spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son. I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience. This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal. So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother…”thou aren’t not dead but flown afar…”. All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince.” #WakandaForever

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett) on Aug 28, 2020 at 8:43pm PDT

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