How She Landed Her Role

You see, Mrs. Steele turned 95 years young in the third week of February (2021), however, she landed the role in Black Panther at the age of 91. In an interview with WSB2-TV-Atlanta, the Atlanta, Ga. native explained how she landed her Black Panther role at such. beautiful age:

“It was just amazing, it truly was,” Steel told Channel 2’s Nefertiti Jaquez. “If anyone would have told me I would be an actor, I would’ve said you got to be out of your mind,” Steel said. Steel said she sent her audition tape when Marvel called her last year. “We sent it in and an hour later they said, “Who is that old lady? We want her,'” she recalled.

She shared further details of how her grandson played a role in getting her the part:

And just like that, Steel was now starring alongside some of the biggest names in the game, including Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, and Michael B. Jordan.

It’s Never Too Late, She Started At 88

Equally inspiring, is the fact that Mrs. Steel is living proof that it is never too late to pursue your dreams. Another interesting fun fact about her, is that it wasn’t until she made her 88th birthday, that she even decided to pursue acting.

What Actor Chadwick Boseman Did For Her On Set

On the set of Black Panther, Dorothy Steel described how much of a melting pot and familial environment it was among all the actors and crew. She also revealed that she was not just the ‘Merchant Tribal Elder’ in the film, she was also the “grandmother” of the set:

Via WSB2-TV- Steel said she became the “grandmother” on the set of ‘Black Panther,’ which she said is not just a movie but a movement. “We were one big melting pot of black people and we knew we were doing something that had never been done before. Ya know?” she said.

Steel said that late actor, Chadwick Boseman – the lead character – would do the coolest thing for her everyday, which made it feel even moreso like a family environment:

“Chadwick the King. Every day, he would make sure if I was on the set, he would come by and make sure he gave me a big old hug and kiss,” Steel said.

She Says The Women In The Film Deserve Their Props

As we all know, Black Panther is an all-around powerful statement within Hollywood for several reasons, including the predominantly Black cast, which was a first for Marvel Studios. However, Steele also attributes much of that power to the fact that there were so many strong women in the movie:

She said the women of Wakanda rule ‘Black Panther.’ ”We have power and it’s time for us to step up and take over. That’s what we have to do and take over,” she said.

Well said Mrs. Steel.

The post 95 Year Old “Black Panther” Actress Tells Amazing Story Of How She Chased Dream After 88 appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

ILOSM family, we have very sad news to report this evening. Actor, Chadwick Boseman, who’s best known for his lead role as “King T’Challa” in the film, Black Panther, has sadly passed away. He was just 43 years old, and apparently he was quietly in the fight of his life recently, unbeknownst to most of his fans.

Associated Press has just released details of how he died:

[Chadwick Boseman] died Friday of cancer, his representative said. He was 43.

Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press.

Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement.

“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said in the statement. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more- all 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.”

Our deepest condolences go out to Chadwick Boseman’s family and loved ones. May that king rest in peace and power, after a beautiful job done here on earth. Join us in paying tribute to Chad with song- “Gone Too Soon”…

The post R.I.P.: Actor, Chadwick Boseman, Sadly Passes Away At 43, Family Speaks Out appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

How Phylicia Rashad Helped When Boseman Was Broke

Chadwick recently revealed in his Rolling Stone interview, that when he was a broke college student at Howard University, he was blessed with an opportunity to be taught by the legendary Phylicia Rashad. While there, he said “She (Rashad) pushed for us,” by encouraging him and a few of his college classmates to apply for some highly sought after acting courses through Oxford University’s foreign exchange program.

The good news was that Chadwick got accepted into the program…but the way his bank account was set up as a broke college student, he just could not afford the expensive tuition at Oxford.

Seeing a true talent in Chadwick and some of his classmates, Phylicia Rashad stepped in to make sure she did whatever she could, so those young people would not miss that opportunity to soar. Here’s what Chadwick told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show:

“I did an exchange [program] while I was at Howard…a group of us….and Phylicia Rashad basically taught a class once a week while we were at Howard. …Then she wanted us to do an exchange [program] and …I you know I didn’t have money to pay for this. So she got a few of her friends together and …they paid for us to go.”

How Denzel Stepped Up For Chadwick

Chadwick said that at that time, he had no clue which celebrity friends Rashad had gotten to pay his tuition and it wasn’t until after he’d returned to Howard, from his exchange program, that he found out who that celeb’ was:

“I didn’t know at first. When I came back [from Oxford to Howard], I got a beneficiary letter and it said ‘Denzel Washington paid for you.’ And I was like ‘WHAT?!!'”

After later learning Denzel helped him, Cadwick decided to keep it on the low, throughout his entire career, until now, but he had a very good reason for that. He never wanted Denzel to think that he was trying to exploit his name and what he’d done for him, in order to boost his own career.

“So I never wanted to ever say that [publicly], until I met him….I was asked about it in that Rolling Stone interview and I was like, ‘You know I think I could say it now…I made it to the point where he’s [Denzel] not gonna think I’m trying to get something from him by saying it.'”

But Boseman still decided not to reveal who in his Rolling Stone Interview, because it just didn’t feel right for him to do so, without actually meeting Denzel to thank him first. Then his opportunity came…

How Chadwick Just Thanked Denzel Many Years Later

Chadwick revealed that he’s just met Denzel Washington this year and was very grateful for that experience. He invited Denzel to the film’s premiere in February (2018) and Chadwick almost seemed surprised that he actually showed up. When he walked over to Denzel, to introduce himself, the Training Day legend did the most classic thing ever.

Boseman said to Denzel, “I got to tell you something…You paid for me to go to school.”

He said Denzel jokingly responded, “Oh, so that’s why I’m here – you owe me money! … I came to collect!”

Watch Chadwick’s Interview Clip

Phylicia Rashad & Boseman Recall Their Fond Memories Together At Howard

We all know Phylicia Rashad was a no-nonsense, loving mother on The Cosby Show, but according to what Chad revealed in his Rolling Stone interview, she was also a mother-like figure to him when she was his teacher at Howard. He recalled how she would take him to see her theatrical performances around town and would also tell him when he needed to eat a pork chop or two, LOL:

Via RS: “She would do a play in D.C. and you’d go see it, and she’d drive you home and talk to you,” [Chadwick] says. “ ’How you eating? You look too skinny. You need a pork chop.’ We were just trying to aspire to her excellence.”

Rashad also recalled what caught her attention about Chadwick back in the day:

“Chad was this lanky young man with big eyes and an endearing smile and a very gentle way,” [Rashad] says. “What I saw in him was the sky was the limit. He never asked me to introduce him to anyone – that’s not his way. He was going to make it on his own merits.”

It was also reported that like his famous mentor, Rashad, Chadwick became an acting teacher following his graduation from Howard:

After graduation, Boseman moved to Bed-Stuy, in Brooklyn, where he fell in with New York’s hip-hop theater scene, writing and directing plays featuring rapping stars and beatboxing Greek choruses. “What Hamilton is doing now,” he says with pride, “we were doing 15 years ago.” To pay the bills, he also taught acting to kids at the Schomburg Center, a black research library in Harlem. (“He was so proud and fulfilled by that,” says Rashad. “When he talked about it, he became like sunshine – he loved it so much.”

Wow, it seems that both Phylicia Rashad and Denzel Washington are in what we, here at ILOSM, call the ‘return phases’ of their lives. That stage of life where they’ve accomplished great feats; earned wisdom, fame and fortune from it; and are now returning those same blessings to those coming after them. That is a beautiful thing and deserves to be celebrated, so we salute them for giving back, without asking for anything in return.

“Black Panther” Film Is Crushin’ The Game!

Speaking of Chadwick Boseman and Black Panther’s success, according to Mashable, the film has been KILLIN’ it at the box office. By it’s second week, it had officially broken into the TOP 20 highest grossing U.S. films of ALL time and grossed $748.1 MILLION:

Via Mashable: Black Panther reached $421.8 million at the North American box office Tuesday – beating out Wonder Woman ($412.6 million) and Toy Story 3 ($415 million) to take the no. 20 spot on the list of the U.S.’ highest-grossing films, Variety reported Wednesday. In addition to that impressive domestic showing, Black Panther has made an additional $326.3 million overseas, bringing the worldwide total so far to $748.1 million.

#WakandaForever

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