King T’Challa Lost His Final Battle – Black Panther Star Dies at 43

He has been battling with colon cancer for four years but never spoke about that. His news came as a Saturday morning shock to all his fans. Chadwick Boseman, a.k.a. Black Panther, took his last breath in his LA home and had his family by his side. Besides King T’Challa, Boseman has also played pioneering roles of Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and James Brown.

The Announcement that Broke Million Hearts

The news of his death was seen first in an Instagram post on his account. According to the post, Chadwick learned about his colon cancer disease in 2016 when it was at Stage 3. Later, it advanced to the fourth stage and died with his wife and other family members by his side.

The statement said, “A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, & brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From ‘Marshall’ to ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ August Wilson’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and several more, all were filmed during & between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

Reactions to This News

Prominent figures from all walks of life showed grief and shock on the death of Mr. Boseman. Human rights activist Martin Luther King 3 praised Chadwick, saying that he brought history to the silver screen’s life through his roles portraying Black Leaders.

Oprah Winfrey also expressed grief on Mr. Boseman’s death and referred to him as a ‘gentle gifted soul.’ She defined dignity by the power, strength, and courage he displayed in recent years. Oprah mentioned that he showed us greatness while going through the sessions of chemotherapy and surgery.

A Glance at Chadwick Boseman’s Career

In 2013, Mr. Boseman appeared as a black player for the first time in ‘42’ as Jackie Robinson in Major League Baseball. Next, he appeared as James Brown, a sizzling soul singer, in ‘Get On Up’ (2014), followed by Marshall (2017), wherein he portrayed Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Justice.

However, he gained popularity as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his role of T’Challa in Black Panther. He portrayed as Wakanda’s King, a fictional African nation, in 2018. The movie was a kind of cultural touchstone, showing an African protagonist as a superhero with a black director and writer, as well as a black cast on the majority.

Chadwick Boseman was born to a nurse mom Carolyn and Father Leroy, in Anderson, South Carolina. His father worked for an agricultural firm alongside a side business of upholstery.