'Black Panther' Stars Attend Chadwick Boseman's Private Memorial
The stars of Black Panther -- perhaps Chadwick Boseman’s most commercially successful film -- have come together at a private memorial to honor the departed star.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Black Panther actors Winston Duke, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o were seen attending the memorial. Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, was also in attendance.
The publication reports that the venue of the memorial was replete with flowers as well as photos of Boseman, who had died on Aug. 28 after a battle with colon cancer that had lasted for four years.
People report a hang drum as part of the music at the memorial, and also took particular note of the touching tribute Boseman’s co-star Jordan wrote for the departed actor a few days ago.
In an Instagram post that had several pictures of him and Boseman together, Jordan wrote about how Boseman acted as a big brother to him and how much he has learned from the 43-year-old actor over the course of his career.
Jordan claimed Boseman paved the way for him on the soap All My Children and taught him how to leave behind a legacy, have a purpose and to be a better person. He said that he has been watching and learning from Boseman and that moving forward he would live life the same way he did.
Boseman’s death came as a shock to a lot of people because he had hidden his terminal cancer diagnosis ever since it was discovered in 2016. Boseman was also able to complete 10 films during his four years of battling with cancer, with breaks taken to undergo treatments and chemotherapy.
With his death, previous photos of the actor looking gaunt and frail have taken on a new meaning. Back in April of this year, fans were shocked when Boseman posted a video on Instagram of his shocking weight loss.
The video was meant to advocate for the Operation 42 initiative that helps out hospitals servicing African-American communities, but what fans ended up noticing was the slimmer physique that was a huge departure from Boseman’s Black Panther body.
Fan reactions ranged from shock to curiosity as to whether the weight loss for another film role. There were also a number of fans that wished Boseman well and asked him to stay safe and healthy.
Boseman is the latest celebrity death of 2020, with a number of actors and musicians dying due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Just some of the celebrity coronavirus deaths include that of Fountains of Wayne co-founder Adam Schlesinger, Broadway star Mark Blum, and former Top Chef Masters winner Floyd Cardoz.