Chadwick Boseman to Get Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Five Years After His Death

Chadwick Boseman – the star of Black Panther and 42 – will posthumously receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame five years after his tragic passing aged 43 from colon cancer.

The talented Oscar-nominated actor will be honored by Ryan Coogler, who directed him in the 2018 Marvel film, and Viola Davis, who starred with him in 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

His widow Simone Ledward-Boseman will be accepting the honor at the ceremony set to take place on Thursday, November 20.

The star will be located at 6904 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Producer for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ana Martinez, said in a statement: ‘The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is deeply honored to celebrate Chadwick Boseman’s extraordinary legacy with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

‘His powerful performances and enduring impact both on and off screen continue to inspire generations around the world.’

Boseman tragically passed away in August 2020 after a private four-year battle with colon cancer, as his family revealed in a statement at the time.

The actor passed away at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side. They did not specify when he died. 

‘It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV,’ the family said. 

‘A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much.’ 

The family revealed several of Boseman’s final films, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, and August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, were filmed ‘during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.’ 

‘It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther,’ the statement said. ‘The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.’ 

Boseman is survived by his aforementioned wife and a parent and had no children, his publicist said at the time. The actor had kept his diagnosis and much of his personal life under wraps. 

He had been reported to be dating Ledward after the pair were spotted together on the red carpet at the 2019 SAG awards, but his marriage was not reported until his death. 

The couple was last seen together in February 2020 at the 69th NBA All-Star Game in Chicago.

Boseman had not spoken publicly about his cancer diagnosis, but had sparked concerns over his health earlier this year after fans took note of his unusually thin appearance.  

Born in South Carolina the son of a nurse and an upholstery entrepreneur, Boseman graduated from Howard University and had small roles in television before his first star turn in 2013. He has roots in the West African country Sierra Leone.

The actor had been known for playing real-life figures, including professional baseball player Jackie Robinson in 2013 biopic, 42, James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up, and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 2017’s Marshall. 

But his most memorable role was his 2018 performance as T’Challa, king of the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda and the crime fighter known as Black Panther, in the first major studio superhero movie featuring a predominantly African-American cast.

The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year and was nominated for six Oscars, including best picture. It won three Academy Awards – in the best original score, best costume design and best production design categories.

Boseman originated the Black Panther film role two years earlier in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, and reprised the part twice more in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

He shrugged off doubters who tried to convince him not to give the superhero an African accent, saying: ‘There was a time period where people would ask me questions about whether or not an audience could sit through a movie with a lead character that spoke with that accent. I became adamant about the fact that it’s not true.’ 

Even at the outset of his Hollywood career, Boseman was clear-eyed about – and even skeptical of – the industry in which he would become an international star.

‘You don’t have the same exact experience as a Black actor as you do as a white actor. You don’t have the same opportunities. That’s evident and true,’ he told AP while promoting 42.

‘The best way to put it is: How often do you see a movie about a black hero who has a love story … he has a spirituality. He has an intellect. It’s weird to say it, but it doesn’t happen that often.’

He took on his first producing job in last year’s action thriller ’21 Bridges,’ in which he also starred, and was last seen on-screen in Spike Lee’s film Da 5 Bloods as the leader of a group of Black soldiers in the Vietnam War.

Boseman completed one last performance, in an adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom released in 2020 which earned him a posthumous Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar nomination.