When he burst onto the scene in Hollywood at the end of the 1990s, Michael Clarke Duncan made waves, impressing critics and audiences alike with his acting chops and substantial screen presence. He had worked for several years prior as a bodyguard to stars including Will Smith and Notorious B.I.G., and was already fully forty years old when given his first big role in Armageddon (1998).
But Duncan turned heads for his peerless work opposite Tom Hanks in The Green Mile, Frank Darabont’s excellent 1999 adaptation of the Stephen King story of John Coffey, a convict on death row with supernatural powers of healing. Duncan’s Academy Award nomination rapidly translated into a slew of high-profile starring and supporting roles in films, including the Bruce Willis vehicle The Whole Nine Yards (2000), The Scorpion King (2002), and The Island (2005), which saw him reunite with Armageddon director Michael Bay, as well as a slew of guest appearances and voice work on TV.
It seemed as though everything was looking up – which made Duncan’s unexpected demise all the more tragic. Here’s what happened.
Duncan’s unexpected passing
On July 13, 2012, Duncan suffered a heart attack in Los Angeles and collapsed. He was taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and spent the next several weeks in intensive care before being moved. However, his condition soon deteriorated, and he died on Sept. 3, aged 54. A coroner stated his death was due to natural causes. Like many stars of stage and screen, he is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.