By ANI
WAHINGTON: The late Chadwick Boseman was recently honored by his wife Simone Leeward and ‘Black-ish’ actor Anthony Anderson during the Stand Up to Cancer fundraising telethon event on Saturday.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, intended to celebrate 13 years of cancer research, the event included performances and appearances from familiar names in Hollywood such as Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Cecily Strong, Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms and Tony Hale.
“Many of us were devastated to learn of Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing after he privately grappled with cancer for several years,” Anderson said during the show, which was streamed on YouTube.
He further added, “The world lost an incredible artist and a true hero. But before he was a public figure, he was a person like you or me, a son, a brother, uncle, cousin, friend, colleague, husband. Many of us are all too familiar with the fracture a dearly loved one’s passing leaves in the lives of those who love them.”
He later introduced Boseman’s wife Simone, who performed ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’, a song about living with the reality of loss. The lyrics included, “I’ll be seeing you in all the old, familiar places that this heart of mine embraces.”
The Black Panther actor died of colon cancer last August at the age of 43.
2021’s Stand Up to Cancer telethon was co-hosted by Anderson, Ken Jeong and his wife, physician Tran Ho, who shared the story of her own breast cancer diagnosis and Sofia Vergara. Performers included Stevie Wonder, Common and Brittany Howard, the latter of whom dedicated her performance to her late sister Jaime.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew McConaughey was among those who appeared in the telecast, sharing a personal story of losing a beloved friend and mentor to cancer, which he referred to as “this damned disease.” Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth executive produced the event.
