Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020 after a career which spanned nearly 30 years, and saw Chadwick star in the likes of Black Panther, Message from the King and other hits
Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman was last night honoured with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Friends gathered at a ceremony to celebrate the accolade, which comes five years after Chadwick died of colon cancer. Viola Davis, an actress who starred in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Get On Up with Chadwick, described the performer as “a mighty, mighty elixir” at the celebration yesterday.
Chadwick’s wife Simone Ledward-Boseman formally accepting the honour, the 2, 828th star on the iconic Walk of Fame in the heart of Hollywood, Los Angeles. Guests, which also included Michael B. Jordan, became tearful as the star was unveiled.
Speaking on stage moments later, Viola said: “Chadwick was a mighty, mighty elixir that sort of stirred up that alchemy that we’re all in search of, which is meaning, I celebrate him today. I say to him, I hope all the angels in heaven just sang him to a beautiful rest. And I thank him for what he left behind in me, which is a burning amber that always guides me to a higher meaning of my work and my purpose”.
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Hello! Magazine reports that since Chadwick died in August 2020, several posthumous productions have been released — and been warmly received. The film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, released less than four months after the tragedy, went on to win a Golden Globe Award in 2021.
And Chadwick became the first black performer to ever be nominated posthumously for an Oscar in that same year, as he was put forward for Best Actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Guest referenced such successes at the event yesterday, praising Chadwick’s personality and acting talent. Ryan Coogler, who directed the 2018 Marvel Studios fiilm Black Panther, said: “He reflected light, he refracted it, and when he did, he showed the greatness of our people, and the universe of our shared humanity, thank you Chad”.
Before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released in 2022, Marvel Studios lauded the actor and said plans for the movie changed following the death. Chadwick kept his journey with colon cancer private,and Hollywood world and fans were devastated to learn of the passing.
The playwright’s wife Simone also became emotional as she spoke and said that her late husband “was more than an actor or even an artist”. She said: “He was a spiritual teacher, fortified by a family and close friends that kept him grounded in faith, a team that believed in him, protected him and fought for him”.
Simone, who is a singer, further expressed that “he could give each and every person a specific part of him and still have so much left to share with the world”. She met the actor in 2015 and the couple got engaged in October 2019, marrying in secret amid Chadwick’s private battle with cancer.
Source: Mirror
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