While the 78th Golden Globes ceremony has just awarded Chadwick Boseman posthumously the prize for best actor in a dramatic role, Justfocus offers you a look back at the actors also honored by awards after their deaths.
Chadwick Boseman crowned for Ma Rainey's Blues
Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer at the age of 43 on August 28, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his performance in The Blues of Ma Rainey, released in November 2020 directly on Netflix. His wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, very moved when receiving the award that celebrates her husband's performance, tried to express the thanks he would have said:
"He would thank God. He would thank his parents, he would thank his ancestors for their guidance and sacrifices. He would say something wonderful, something inspiring."
Heath Ledger awarded for The Dark Knight
In 2008, Heath Ledger passed away at the age of only 28. Doubly crowned in 2009 by the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his masterful performance in the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight, he left his indelible mark on this emblematic character. At the time, Christopher Nolan, director of the film, accepted his award in place of the late actor, saying that it was "with a mixture of sadness and incredible pride".
James Dean crowned for East of Eden
At 24 years old, James Dean entered the sad legend of actors promised a great future broke in full youth. The actor had actually left us after a terrible accident in his Porsche in 1955. The following year in 1956, the Golden Globes saluted the enfant terrible of Hollywood and honored him for East of Eden with the Henrietta Award. Today, this price no longer exists. It was awarded to the favorite actor and actress of the past year.
Peter Finch awarded for Network
In Sidney Lumet's network, a completely crazy and charged film about the world of television, Peter Finch plays the role of a television news anchor pushed to the limit by his leaders and audience imperatives. This insane role earned him two awards. He was posthumously awarded the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. A tribute awarded just two months after he succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 60 in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel in January 1977.
Spencer Tracy nominated for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
In Guess Who Comes to Dinner, we remember, and rightly, Sidney Poitier for this role – completely new at the time – of the young African-American fiancé who meets the family of his white girlfriend, played by Katharine Houghton. However, we forget a little too quickly the emblematic performance of Spencer Tracy. The late actor played the role of the young woman's father. He had liberal views but was still reluctant to see his daughter marry a black man. He was nominated in 1968 for the Golden Globe for Best Actor when he died only a few days after filming ended.
Raul Julia crowned for The Forest of All Dangers
For many of us, he will be remembered as the wonderful interpreter of Gomez Addams, a family man for the least atypical, in the two cinematic parts of The Addams Family. But you should know that Raul Julia was rewarded for the role of a Brazilian environmentalist in the TV movie The Burning Season. He also received an Emmy Award for the same role. These posthumous awards to these genius artists make them legends that will remain etched in our minds forever.
