'Green Mile' Actor's Public Viewing Takes Place Sunday

A public viewing will be held Sunday for Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who died from complications of a heart attack he suffered in July.

Duncan, 54, died Sept. 3 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since his July 13 heart attack.

A public viewing of Duncan's casket will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, according to Duncan's publicist, Joy Fehily. A private funeral service will be held Monday, with the Rev. Charles Blake presiding and a eulogy by the Rev. H. Beecher Hicks of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound actor with a deep, commanding voice is best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of a death-row inmate in "The Green Mile." His film credits also include films such as "Armageddon," the remake of "Planet of the Apes," "The Whole Nine Yards," "Sin City" and "The Scorpion King.'' He also voiced characters in the animated film "Kung Fu Panda" and the animated series "Spider-Man."

Duncan was raised by a single mother on Chicago's South Side and often told interviewers he concentrated on his studies to avoid drugs and alcohol.

He dreamed of becoming an actor while attending college, but instead found work digging ditches for the Peoples Gas Co. in Chicago. Later, Duncan worked as a bodyguard for rappers Will Smith, LL Cool J and The Notorious B.I.G. and actors Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx.

Duncan finally turned to acting in 1995 when he was in his 30s.

He had his breakout role in "The Green Mile," which was based on a Stephen King novel and co-starred Tom Hanks. Duncan played convicted murderer John Coffey, who was befriended by Hank's character, a sympathetic corrections officer at a state penitentiary.

Duncan was engaged to reality TV star turned minister the Rev. Omarosa Manigault.