(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
IN MEMORIAM
...Chadwick Boseman...
(1977 - 2020)...
(Publicity Photo 'Avengers: Inifinity War') |
 American actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson, passed away
Nederlands
 LOS ANGELES, California (USA) -
American actor Chadwick Boseman, who became famous for his role as Black Panther, but also played baseball-icon Jackie Robinson, passed away on Friday (August 28) at the age of only 43.
In a statement, his family said that Boseman had battled colon cancer for four years after being diagnosed with the disease in 2016.
Boseman never spoke publicly about his illness and continued acting while undergoing treatment.
In these years, he played in some big and very successful movies.
Chadwick Aaron Boseman was born on November 29, 1977 in Anderson, South Carolina.
Chadwick Boseman studied at Howard University in Washtington, DC, and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England.
In 2013, Chadwick Boseman played baseball-icon Jackie Robinson in the movie 42.
In this movie, the life of Jackie Robinson (who passed away in 1972) is chronicled.
It follows his career in the Negro Leagues, being signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and then breaking the color barrier in the Major League in 1947.
Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey then promoted him to the Major League-team and Robinson became the first colored player.
The film also focusses on the racism, abuse and threats that Robinson had to experience on his way to the Major League.
When Robinson was promoted to the Major League-team, the Dodger-management took a stand for him when there were mixed feelings.
It was especially Manager Leo Durocher who protected Robinson.
It is said that he said the following to his team during a meeting:
,,I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra.
I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays.
What's more, I say he can make us all rich.
And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded''.
Robinson played for Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947-1956 as second baseman.
In 1947, he won the first-ever Rookie of the Year Award.
Robinson played in six All Star Games, was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1949 and played in six World Series with the Dodgers, winning in 1955.
After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his achievements on and off the field.
Coincidentally, Boseman passed away on the day that the 17th edition of Jackie Robinson Day was celebrated throughout Major League Baseball.
The annual event normally takes place on April 15, but due to the coronavirus-pandemic, not only the start of the season, but also several events were postponed.
April 15 is the day that Robinson played his first game in 1947 to break the color barrier.
The event was moved to Friday.
On Jackie Robinson Day, all players and coaches wear number 42.
It was Jackie Robinson's widow Rachel Robinson, who had been the stimulating force behing the realisation of the movie to tell the entire story of her husband.
To prepare for the movie, Boseman and other actors trained for several months with professional players.
One of the advisers during filming was legendary slugger Hank Aaron.
Boseman knew some baseball, as he had played Little League himself, but his prime sport was basketball.
...Chadwick Boseman as Jackie...
...Robinson in '42'...
(Publicity photo '42') |
In an interview in Sports Illustrated from 2013, Chadwick Boseman talked about the preparations for the movie.
,,We did an extended spring training from January to May.
We'd do two-a-day workouts with baseball practice in the morning and conditioning practice in the afternoon.
Every two weeks they would film practice and give me a video of my swing, split-screened with his so that I could slow it down [when I watched] and get it as close as possible.''
Playing the part of Jackie Robinson in 42 was the first major role for Boseman in a movie.
The movie was directed by Brian Helgeland and also starred Harrison Ford (as Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey), Nicole Beharie (as Rachel Robinson), Christopher Meloni (as Dodgers Manager Leo Durocher), Lucas Black (as Dodgers player Pee Wee Reese) and Hamish Linklater (as Dodgers player Ralph Branca).
The title of the movie refers to Robinson's uniform number 42, which was retired in the entire Major League in 1997.
The role as Jackie Robinson earned Chadwick Boseman several award-nominations.
He was nominated for the Breakthrough Performance of the Year Hollywood Award at the Acapulco Black Film Festival, the Outstanding Breakthrough Performance Award at the Black Reel Awards, the Most Promising Performer at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the Image Awards.
The Jackie Robinson Foundation (readible at right) as well as Major League Baseball issued a statement on Saturday.
MLB stated: ,,We are devastated by the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman.
His transcendent performance in “42” will stand the test of time and serve as a powerful vehicle to tell Jackie’s story to audiences for generations to come.''
On July 13, 2013, a few months after 42 was released, Chadwick Boseman threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a home-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
...Tweet with the statement by the...
...Jackie Robinson Foundation... |
Before appearing on the big screen, Boseman played in several television series, making his debut in 2003 in the soap All My Children.
Thereafter, he played roles in eposides of other series, including Law & Order, CSI: NY and ER.
He had a bigger part in the 2008-2009 drama-series Lincoln Heights, appearing in nine episodes.
Another bigger role followed in 2010 when he appeared in ten episodes of the thriller/mystery-series Persons Unknown.
In the years following 42, Boseman played appeared in more films and also played two more icons.
In the biography drama-movie Get on Up (2014), he played famous singer James Brown.
This film, directed by Tate Taylor, follows the life of Brown from exteme poverty to becoming one of the most very infuential musicians in history.
Also playing in this movie was Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer, who in 2012 won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Help.
In later years, she also was nominated for an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress) for Hidden Figures (2017) and The Shape of Water (2018), which won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture.
Another future Oscar-winner also played in Get on Up, Viola Davis.
In 2017, she won the Oscar for Best Actress for Fences.
Dan Aykroyd, who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1989 for Driving Miss Daisy, also plays in this movie.
In 2017, Chadwick Boseman played Thurgood Marshall in Marshall, directed by Reginald Hudlin.
This also was a biographical movie, which followed the life of lawyer Thurgood Marshall, who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Boseman appeared in another sports movie in 2014 when he played the part of American football-player Vontae Mack in Draft Day.
The movie, directed by Ivan Reitman, focusses on an NFL Draft when Sonny Weaver, a General Manager, has the opportunity to rebuild his team.
The role of Sonny Weaver is played by Kevin Costner, who appeared in several sports-related movies himself, including Chasing Dreams (baseball, 1982), American Flyers (bicycle race, 1985), Bull Durham (baseball, 1988), Field of Dreams (baseball, 1989), Tin Cup (golf, 1996) and For Love of the Game (baseball, 1999).
Costner won an Oscar for Best Director in 1991 for Dances with Wolves.
Chadwick Boseman also played in the adventure/fantasy-movie Gods of Egypt (2016), which was directed by Alex Proyas.
In this movie, Boseman plays the role of Thoth.
Boseman became a star after playing the role of T'Challa, the King of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, in Black Panther, which was based on the wellknown character of the Marvel-comics.
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...Trailer of '42' with Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson... |
In 2016, Boseman first played the part of Black Panther in the Marvel-adventure movie Captain America: Civil War, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo.
The film also starred Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle.
For Boseman, this was the first of a five-picture deal with Marvel.
The character of super hero Black Panther got its own movie in 2018.
In the movie Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, the story is told how T'Challa becomes King of Wakanda and Black Panther.
Also starring are Michael B. Jordan, Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis.
The movie was very successful and got several Oscar-nomimations, including Best Motion Picture.
The film won three Oscars, as the Academy Award was handed out to Ludwig Göransson (Music), Ruth E. Carter (Costume Design) and Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart (Production Design).
Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first African-American to win an Oscar in their department.
The film became one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the USA.
Chadwick Boseman also played the part of T'Challa/Black Panther in two movies of the Avengers-series, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Boseman's latest movie was released in June of this year, which was the war-drama Da 5 Bloods, directed by Spike Lee, which tells the story of four African-American Vietnam veterans.
Another movie with Boseman had just been completed, which is music/drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
The movie sets in Chicago 1927, is directed by George C. Wolfe and tells the story of a recording session by a band of musicians.
The role of Ma Rainey, 'Mother of the Blues', is played by Viola Davis.
Boseman plays the part of Levee.
A release date for this movie is not known yet.
At the moment, Chadwick Boseman was filming the TV-animation-series What If...? in which he provided the voice of Black Panther and will be released next year.
He was scheduled to play the part of 16th Century warrior Yasuke, the only known Samurai of African origin, in the movie Yasuke.
The film, which is in pre-production, will be directed by Doug Miro and Gregory Widen.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to the family of Chadwick Boseman and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(August 29)
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