Late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman gets Hollywood star
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Chadwick Boseman's wife Simone Ledward-Boseman (middle) poses with Black Panther stars Letitia Wright (left) and Michael B. Jordan in Los Angeles, California on Nov 20,.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES - Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honoured on Nov 20 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
American film-maker Ryan Coogler, who directed the late American actor in the 2018 superhero movie, American actress Viola Davis and Boseman’s widow Simone Ledward-Boseman led the emotional ceremony in the heart of Tinseltown.
“Today was a beautiful day,” Ledward-Boseman said. “Everyone was just so full of love and joy. And we’re all so proud of this person that we knew, that we shared.”
Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 at the age of 43 after suffering from colon cancer for four years.
A photo of late actor Chadwick Boseman sits next to a pair of his shoes on his unveiled star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, on Nov 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Coogler, 39, remembered his leading man as an “incredibly generous” person.
“Even when he knew his days were limited, and his moments were numbered, he still gave to the art form. He still threw himself into the fire,” he said.
Boseman began his career in theatre and television before making the leap to film.
His most famous character T’Challa/Black Panther was introduced in Captain America: Civil War (2016).
Two years later, he reprised the role in the hugely successful standalone Black Panther, becoming the first Black actor to take the lead in the sprawling Marvel franchise.
His debilitating disease did not keep him from making movies or from fully committing to his craft, Coogler said.
Film-maker Ryan Coogler during the the ceremony posthumously honouring Chadwick Boseman in Los Angeles, California, on Nov 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“Even though he was going through what he was going through, he would do his own stunts, he would be there for off-camera dialogue readings. It was incredible.”
Davis, with whom he shared the screen in the 2020 musical drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which would be his final outing and for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, said Boseman’s work “reminded us that we are less alone”.
Actress Viola Davis during late actor Chadwick Boseman's posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony in Los Angeles, California, on Nov 20.
PHOTO: AFP
“That was Chadwick, more than just an actor who you can observe on screen doing wonderful work,” said the 60-year-old Oscar-winning actress.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, Black Panther co-stars Michael B. Jordan and Letitia Wright, and Boseman’s brothers Kevin and Derrick Boseman also attended the ceremony. AFP
