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Say what you will about the modern electronic gossip TMZ, but you can’t deny its ability to redeem the mainstream media when it comes to the more personal tragedies of Hollywood. Namely: Passing Green Mile star Michael Clarke Duncan.
TMZ reports:
According to our sources, his death was very sudden. We’re told his fiancee, Omarosa Manigault, was with him in the Los Angeles hospital room and left for a short time. When she came back… he was dead.
Our sources say Omarosa’s mother was with him when he passed away.
Duncan’s rep told TMZ that the actor never fully recovered from the myocardial infarction he suffered on July 13. As TMZ first reported, Omarosa found Duncan in cardiac arrest [following the infarction] and performed CPR and was able to resuscitate him before calling 911.
While we’re automatically skeptical of anything reported exclusively by TMZ, the story was confirmed by Deadline Hollywood, so we’re unfortunately inclined to believe this report.
Although Duncan was never seen as a leading man, you’d be hard-pressed to find regular moviegoers who wouldn’t recognize the man from the many iconic roles he’s played over the years. Given his massive stature, it’s no surprise that Duncan played the role of a menacing heavyweight in a number of films, although he was equally adept at playing the gentle giant and creating genuine pathos from his characters. Take Green Mile for example. This 1999 film starred America’s favorite actor Tom Hanks, yet the real standout performance of the whole thing was Duncan’s turn as the incarcerated John Coffey, a convict whose vast source of empathy manifests as actual, supernatural healing abilities. Most impressively, despite the fantastic plot, Duncan’s portrayal keeps the film firmly grounded in drama, and the end result is a film that is undeniably better than the Stephen King story it used as its source material.
Not surprisingly, Duncan was nominated for an Oscar for Green Mile.
The most depressing part of Duncan’s death is that the actor was only 54 years old. Statistically, it’s not that surprising to see an African-American affected by heart problems at such a relatively young age, but we’re still very saddened by the loss. We didn’t realize how many quality movies and video game series the man was involved with until now, and with his death we can’t think of another actor who could match Duncan’s skillful acting while possessing the man’s physically imposing stature. A lot of actors are big guys and a lot of them can act, but it’s so uncommon to find someone who fits both of those criteria. It may be hyperbolic to say that Duncan was “one of a kind”, but he was certainly rare and his presence will be sorely missed by the film industry.
Update: This post originally stated that Michael Clarke Duncan was featured in the film Pulp Fiction, when Ving Rhames was actually in that role. We apologize for any confusion and have corrected the error in the meantime.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn