Gentle Giant
NEWS CENSUS
Gentle Giant
Through his work Michael Clarke Duncan impacted a generation of moviegoers died at the age of 54 after complications from a heart attack he suffered back in July. Born in Chicago, the 6-foot-5-inch star began his Hollywood career as a bouncer while trying to break into acting. He later became a bodyguard, working for clients like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawrence and LL Cool J. In a twist of fate, Duncan was assigned to protect Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace the night he was murdered in 1997. However, he’d switched jobs with a friend. The tragedy made Duncan refocus on his dramatic passion. Eventually he began to land roles, but was often typecast as a bouncer or bodyguard because of his imposing frame and real-life work experience. His big break finally came when he played “Bear” opposite Bruce Willis in 1998’s Armageddon. However, Duncan’s most memorable performance was in the 1999 movie The Green Mile, in which he played “John Coffey”— a man with supernatural healing powers wrongly convicted
of raping and killing two young White girls. Duncan’s powerful performance scored him an Oscar nod for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Other noteworthy fi lms on his resume include Daredevil, Sin City, Planet of the Apes, The Scorpion King, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. “I always say you can do anything,” Duncan once said. “If you want to be a successful actor, you have to believe in yourself more than anything else, and don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do it because you can.” —by Mariah Craddick
PASSINGS... Lucimarian Roberts 88, the first AfricanAmerican to chair the Mississippi State Board of Education and mother of GMA host Robin Roberts.
Sharon K. McGhee 55, famed broadcaster and playwright, who authored The Pocketbook Monologues, a collection of stories from women of color on intimacy.
Smarck Michel 75, former Haitian prime minister, who served briefly under President JeanBertrand Aristide in the mid-’90s.
SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION
BELOVED ACTOR Michael Clarke Duncan
18
B1(:6B&(1686LQGG
30
Gentle Giant
Through his work Michael Clarke Duncan impacted a generation of moviegoers died at the age of 54 after complications from a heart attack he suffered back in July. Born in Chicago, the 6-foot-5-inch star began his Hollywood career as a bouncer while trying to break into acting. He later became a bodyguard, working for clients like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawrence and LL Cool J. In a twist of fate, Duncan was assigned to protect Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace the night he was murdered in 1997. However, he’d switched jobs with a friend. The tragedy made Duncan refocus on his dramatic passion. Eventually he began to land roles, but was often typecast as a bouncer or bodyguard because of his imposing frame and real-life work experience. His big break finally came when he played “Bear” opposite Bruce Willis in 1998’s Armageddon. However, Duncan’s most memorable performance was in the 1999 movie The Green Mile, in which he played “John Coffey”— a man with supernatural healing powers wrongly convicted
of raping and killing two young White girls. Duncan’s powerful performance scored him an Oscar nod for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Other noteworthy fi lms on his resume include Daredevil, Sin City, Planet of the Apes, The Scorpion King, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. “I always say you can do anything,” Duncan once said. “If you want to be a successful actor, you have to believe in yourself more than anything else, and don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do it because you can.” —by Mariah Craddick
PASSINGS... Lucimarian Roberts 88, the first AfricanAmerican to chair the Mississippi State Board of Education and mother of GMA host Robin Roberts.
Sharon K. McGhee 55, famed broadcaster and playwright, who authored The Pocketbook Monologues, a collection of stories from women of color on intimacy.
Smarck Michel 75, former Haitian prime minister, who served briefly under President JeanBertrand Aristide in the mid-’90s.
SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION
BELOVED ACTOR Michael Clarke Duncan
18
B1(:6B&(1686LQGG
30
