As one of the most recognizable and beloved actors of the 2000s, Michael Clarke-Duncan rose to fame with his tough-guy roles that eventually gave way to more moving and complex performances. Standing at six feet and five inches, the actor was known as something of a gentle giant with his notable efforts in animal rights activism and work with the Sue Duncan Children’s Center. Duncan’s road to success was not an easy one, with the actor overcoming financial and personal struggles in his early life. After starring in a number of memorable roles and becoming a distinguished television and film personality, Duncan tragically passed away in 2012 at the age of 54 after a myocardial infarction.

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Early Life and Upbringing

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Michael Duncan was raised by a single mother and his older sister after his father walked out on the family. Duncan was only five years old when his father left, but his mother picked up the pieces and ensured the best possible upbringing for her son. From Duncan’s accounts, his mother Jean was a nurturing and protective mother who kept him on the straight and narrow path while actively supporting his dreams. She, too, once had a dream of being an actress, so she enthusiastically supported her son’s decision to pursue the career.

In an account recounted by Tom Hanks at Duncan’s funeral, it was Duncan’s mother that stepped in when he attempted to join a local south side Chicago gang as a teenager. According to Hanks, Duncan fancied joining a local gang whose members all colored a section of their hair red. From this account, it seems Duncan just wanted to be a part of something, his adolescent misjudgment appraising the lifestyle benignly. When he came home with his newly dyed hair, his mother smacked him over the head with a frying pan, demanded he shave the red hair off, and made him renounce the gang on the very day he had joined. Hanks laughed as he told the story, which Duncan no doubt shared as an anecdote of the tough-love, no-nonsense parenting style of his mother.

His mother furthermore forbade him from playing football in high school out of fear that he would be seriously injured, a decision that further pushed Duncan toward pursuing acting.

Having only obtained a GED rather than a traditional high school diploma, Duncan struggled with employment, at one point working in ditch digging to support his mother when she fell ill. He was eventually able to find work in personal-protection as a bodyguard, a business he distanced himself from after the death of one of his employers, Notorious B.I.G. Michael Clarke-Duncan’s hard work and focus on his goals paid off in the end, and in 1998 he landed the role of “Bear” in Michael Bay’s blockbuster Armageddon.

Career Highlights and Personal Life

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Having previously been typecast in small roles as bodyguards and bouncers, Armageddon was a career breakthrough for Michael Clarke-Duncan. While filming the project, he befriended his co-star Bruce Willis, who helped him secure his role in The Green Mile. The 1999 project was Duncan’s breakout role, with his performance garnering him vast critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination to boot. In this moving drama, Duncan plays John Coffey, an Black man in 1935 Louisiana who is falsely convicted of the assault and murder of two white little girls. The racism of the era no doubt plays a role in John Coffey’s imprisonment, and it soon becomes evident to his jailer, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), that the innocent man in fact bears supernatural healing abilities and an incredibly kind heart.

Duncan’s career was then diversified with a number of roles in various genres including drama, action, and comedy. He also lent his distinctive baritone voice for animated projects such as Brother Bear, Kung Fu Panda, and Green Lantern. Duncan then partnered with PETA as a spokesperson after his decision to stop eating meat for both ethical and health reasons.

In 2010, Michael Clarke-Duncan began dating television personality Omarosa Manigault. Upon his death in 2012, Manigault would become one of the central characters in the battle over his contested will.

Death and Legacy

On the morning of July 13, 2012, Duncan was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center after Manigault discovered he was not breathing around two in the morning. Though she performed CPR upon the discovery, the time elapsed between his last breaths and the resuscitation caused significant damage to his system. Throughout his lengthy stay at the hospital after the myocardial infarction, organs began to give out and hopes of recovery became more bleak. On September 3, 2012, Michael-Clarke Duncan passed away.

Following his death, a nasty battle over his last will and testament ensued between his family and Omorosa Manigault, who claimed the couple had been engaged. Duncan’s family alleged that Manigault had manipulated the actor into amending his will to leave the majority of his estate to her. Even Manigault’s Celebrity Apprentice co-star LaToya Jackson implied that Manigualt’s conniving nature may have led her to manipulate the situation.

Manigualt denied these accusations, having remained by her lover’s side throughout his entire hospital stay and being incredibly distraught throughout funeral preparations. In 2013, Manigault honored Duncan in an episode of The All-Star Celebrity Apprentice, in which she won forty-thousand dollars for Duncan’s favorite charity, the Sue Duncan Children’s Center.

Almost ten years after his death, Duncan’s legacy lives on not only in his work, but in the lasting impact of his renowned kindness.