LOS ANGELES — Michael Clarke Duncan, the hulking character actor whose dozens of films included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death-row inmate in “The Green Mile” and roles in such other box office hits as “Armageddon,” ‘‘Planet of the Apes” and “Kung Fu Panda,” has died. He was 54.
Clarke died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA, where he was being treated for a heart attack, said his fiancée, the Rev. Omarosa Manigault — a reality star on “The Apprentice.”
The muscular 6-foot-4 Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, “suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered,” her statement said, adding she “is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date.”
Last spring, Clarke appeared in a video for PETA, the animal-rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he had been feeling since becoming a vegetarian three years earlier.
“I cleared out my refrigerator, about $5,000 worth of meat,” he said. “I’m a lot healthier than I was when I was eating meat.”
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 correction officer at a penitentiary in the 1930s. Duncan played John Coffey, a convicted murderer with a surprisingly gentle demeanor and extraordinary healing powers.
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 Duncan for “The Green Mile” after the two appeared together in “Armageddon.” Clarke would work with Willis again in “Breakfast of Champions,” ‘‘The Whole Nine Yards” and “Sin City.”
His industrial-sized build was suited for everything from superhero films (“Daredevil”) to comedy (“Talledega Nights,” ‘‘School for Scoundrels”). His gravelly baritone alone was good enough for several animated movies, including, “Kung Fu Panda,” ‘‘Delgo” and “Brother Bear.” Among Clarke’s television credits: “The Apprentice,” ‘‘The Finder,” ‘‘Two and a Half Men” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.”
Born in Chicago in 1957, Duncan was raised by a single mother who did not want him to play football. That led him to decide that instead. he would become an actor. But when his mother became ill, Duncan dropped out of Alcorn State University and went to work as a ditch digger and bouncer to support her.
By his mid-20s, Duncan was in Los Angeles, looking for parts and working as a bodyguard for Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and other stars. The murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G., whom Duncan had been hired to protect before switching assignments, led him to pursue acting full-time.Early film and television credits, when he was usually cast as a bodyguard or bouncer, included “Bulworth,” ‘‘A Night at the Roxbury” and “The Players Club.