Michael Clarke Duncan, film actor, dies - San Francisco Chronicle

Michael Clarke Duncan, the hulking, prolific character actor whose dozens of films included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate in "The Green Mile" and such other box office hits as "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes" and "Kung Fu Panda," died Monday at age 54.

Mr. Duncan died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was being treated for a heart attack, his fiancee, reality TV personality the Rev. Omarosa Manigault, said in a statement.

The muscular, 6-foot-4 Mr. Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, "suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered," the statement said.

Mr. Duncan had a handful of minor roles before "The Green Mile" brought him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. The 1999 film, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, starred Tom Hanks as a corrections officer at a penitentiary in the 1930s. Mr. Duncan played John Coffey, a convicted murderer with a surprisingly gentle demeanor and extraordinary healing powers.

Mr. Duncan's performance caught on with critics and moviegoers, and he quickly became a favorite in Hollywood, appearing in several films a year. He owed some of his good fortune to Bruce Willis, who recommended Mr. Duncan for "The Green Mile" after the two appeared together in "Armageddon." Mr. Duncan would work with Willis again in "Breakfast of Champions," "The Whole Nine Yards" and "Sin City."

His industrial-size build was suited for everything from superhero films ("Daredevil") to comedy ("Talladega Nights," "School for Scoundrels"). His gravelly baritone was heard in several animated movies, including "Kung Fu Panda," "Delgo" and "Brother Bear." Among Mr. Duncan's television credits: "The Apprentice," "The Finder," "Two and a Half Men" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."

Born in Chicago in 1957, Mr. Duncan was raised by a single mother whose resistance to his playing football led to his decision to become an actor. But when his mother became ill, he dropped out of Alcorn State University in Mississippi and worked as a ditch digger and bouncer to support her.

By his mid-20s, Mr. Duncan was in Los Angeles, where he looked for acting parts and became a bodyguard for Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and other stars.