American actor Cadwick Boseman, best known for his titular superhero role in Black Panther and as baseball icon Jackie Robinson in 42, has died after a four-year-long secret battle with colon cancer. He was 43.
In a statement posted on his official Twitter handle, the actor’s family said Boseman was diagnosed with the disease in 2016. He passed away at his residence here with his wife and family by his side.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said in the statement.
“From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more –– all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honour of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther,” they added.
The family thanked fans and well-wishers while requesting for privacy in these “difficult times”.
Boseman had recently appeared in Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee’s timely movie Da 5 Bloods, about a group of aging Vietnam War veterans who return to the country in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader. His last film will be Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. (PTI)
