According to the Associated Press…
LOS ANGELES — Michael Clarke Duncan, the hulking, prolific character
actor whose dozens of films included an Oscar-nominated performance as a
death row inmate in “The Green Mile” and such other box office hits as
“Armageddon,” ”Planet of the Apes” and “Kung Fu Panda,” is dead at age
54.
Clarke died Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles, where he was being treated for a heart attack, said his
fiancée, Reverend Omarosa Manigault, in a statement released by
publicist Joy Fehily.
The muscular, 6-foot-4 Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, “suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered,” the statement said. “Manigault is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date.”
In the spring of 2012, Clarke had appeared in a video for PETA, the animal rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he felt since becoming a vegetarian three years earlier.
Tempus fugitThe muscular, 6-foot-4 Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, “suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered,” the statement said. “Manigault is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date.”
In the spring of 2012, Clarke had appeared in a video for PETA, the animal rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he felt since becoming a vegetarian three years earlier.
“I cleared out my refrigerator, about $5,000 worth of meat,” he said. “I’m a lot healthier than I was when I was eating meat.”
Duncan had a handful of minor roles before “The Green Mile” brought
him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. The 1999
film, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, starred Tom
Hanks as a corrections officer at a penitentiary in the 1930s. Duncan
played John Coffey, a convicted murderer with a surprisingly gentle
demeanor and extraordinary healing powers.
Duncan’s performance caught on with critics and moviegoers and he quickly became a favorite in Hollywood, appearing in several films a year. He owed some of his good fortune to Bruce Willis, who recommended Duncan for “The Green Mile” after the two appeared together in “Armageddon.” Clarke would work with Willis again in “Breakfast of Champions,” ”The Whole Nine Yards” and “Sin City.”
Duncan’s performance caught on with critics and moviegoers and he quickly became a favorite in Hollywood, appearing in several films a year. He owed some of his good fortune to Bruce Willis, who recommended Duncan for “The Green Mile” after the two appeared together in “Armageddon.” Clarke would work with Willis again in “Breakfast of Champions,” ”The Whole Nine Yards” and “Sin City.”
His industrial-sized build was suited for everything from superhero
films (“Daredevil”) to comedy (“Talledega Nights,” ”School for
Scoundrels”). His gravelly baritone alone was good enough for several
animated movies, including, “Kung Fu Panda,” ”Delgo” and “Brother Bear.”
Among Clarke’s television credits: “The Apprentice,” ”The Finder,” ”Two
and a Half Men” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.”
Born in Chicago in 1957, Duncan was raised by a single mother whose
resistance to his playing football led to his deciding he wanted to
become an actor. But when his mother became ill, he dropped out of
college, Alcorn State University, and worked as a ditch digger and
bouncer to support her. By his mid-20s, he was in Los Angeles, where he
looked for acting parts and became a bodyguard for Will Smith, Jamie
Foxx and other stars. The murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G., for whom
Duncan had been hired to protect before switching assignments, led him
to quit his job and pursue acting full-time.
Early film and television credits, when he was usually cast as a bodyguard or bouncer, included “Bulworth,” ”A Night at the Roxbury” and “The Players Club.”
Early film and television credits, when he was usually cast as a bodyguard or bouncer, included “Bulworth,” ”A Night at the Roxbury” and “The Players Club.”
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