FILE - In this Tuesday, April 10, 2001 file photo, pop singer Christina Aguilera accepts her award for favorite female artist of the year from presenter Michael Clarke Duncan at the Seventh Annual Blockbuster... (Associated Press) 
 
 Michael Clarke Duncan was one big, irresistible jumble of contradictions. 
 
 His presence was formidable, even intimidating: The former bodyguard had a muscular, 6-foot-4 frame, but it was topped by the brightest of megawatt smiles. 
 
 His gravelly baritone was well-suited to everything from animated films to action spectacles, but no matter the role, a warmth and a sweetness was always evident underneath. 
 
 The prolific character actor, whose dozens of movies included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate in "The Green Mile" and box office hits including "Armageddon," `'Planet of the Apes" and "Kung Fu Panda," died Monday at age 54. And although he only turned to acting in his 30s, it's clear from the outpouring of prayers and remembrances he received across the Hollywood and sports worlds that his gentle-giant persona made him much-loved during that relatively brief time. 
 
 Duncan died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was being treated for a heart attack, said his fianc??e, Omarosa Manigault, in a statement released by publicist Joy Fehily. 
 
 Duncan "suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered," the statement said. "Manigault 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." 
 
 Tom Hanks, star of 1999's "The Green Mile" _ the film that earned a then-little-known Duncan a supporting-actor nomination at the Academy Awards _ said he was "terribly saddened at the loss of Big Mike. He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of `The Green Mile.' He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned." 
 
 "I will miss my friend, Michael Clarke Duncan," comedian and talk-show host Steve Harvey said on Twitter. "What an incredible soldier in God's Plan." Other sad and shocked reactions came from a diverse field that included Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban, actresses Alexa Vega, Niecy Nash and Olivia Munn, and former boxing champion Lennox Lewis. 
 
 In the spring of 2012, Duncan had appeared in a video for PETA, the animal rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he felt 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 accolades and fame. The 1999 film, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, starred Hanks as a corrections 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." Duncan 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 ("Talladega Nights," `'School for Scoundrels"). He could have made a career out of his voice work alone, with appearances in several animated and family movies, including, "Kung Fu Panda," `'Racing Stripes" and "Brother Bear." Among Duncan's television credits were "The Apprentice," `'Two and a Half Men," `'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and a new series, "The Finder." 
 
 Born in Chicago in 1957, Duncan was raised by a single mother whose resistance to his playing football led to his deciding he wanted to become an actor. But when his mother became ill, he dropped out of college, Alcorn State University, and worked as a ditch digger and bouncer to support her. By his mid-20s, he was in Los Angeles, where he looked for acting parts and became a bodyguard for Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and other stars. The murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G., for whom Duncan had been hired to protect before switching assignments, led him to quit his job and 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." 
 
 ___ 
 
 AP Writers Steve Loeper and Hillel Italie contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chris Parker was interviewed by reporters in the aftermath of the attack 
 
 A homeless man who stole a purse and a phone from victims of the Manchester Arena attack has admitted theft. 
 
 Chris Parker, 33, was initially dubbed a hero after claiming he comforted a seriously injured girl. 
 
 CCTV footage played to Manchester Crown Court showed him wandering between stricken victims. 
 
 He kept returning to injured Pauline Healey, whose granddaughter lay dying nearby, before leaning over her and taking her handbag to steal her purse. 
 
 The footage showed paramedics and police trying to resuscitate victims close by as he did so. 
 
 Within hours of taking the purse, he was using Mrs Healey's bank card at a local fast food restaurant. 
 
 Hiding in loft 
 
 Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May, killing 22 people and injuring many more. 
 
 Parker's trial was due to start on Tuesday, but was delayed after he failed to appear. 
 
 He was found hiding in a loft of a house in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where he was arrested. 
 
 The court heard that following his arrest, he had received death threats while on remand in HMP Manchester. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Salman Abedi detonated a home-made bomb in the foyer of the arena on 22 May last year 
 
 He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one of fraud after admitting using a debit card from the stolen purse. 
 
 Parker pleaded not guilty to five counts relating to the attempted theft of a coat and bag discarded in the chaos following the attack, and the use of Mrs Healey's bank cards in the days after. 
 
 Donations for 'heroic' actions to be repaid 
 
 When the story of Parker's "heroism" was originally reported, a member of the public was so moved by his actions, he set up an appeal on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe. 
 
 Michael Johns' appeal page stated that he hoped the campaign would "go some way to helping Chris off the streets and also show our gratitude for his actions". 
 
 Set up with the aim of raising £1,000, the appeal drew an "unprecedented" response and gathered more than £52,000. 
 
 A spokesman for the site said that following Parker's guilty pleas, the money would no longer be paid out to him. 
 
 He said the company was "in full control of the funds donated" and the donations "will be refunded". 
 
 Louise Brandon, prosecuting, said as he had "admitted stealing items belonging to victims" and using a bank card, she would not "seek a trial on the remaining counts". 
 
 Prosecutors said it was clear the defendant provided "some limited assistance" to people injured at the entrance to the venue's foyer, but he "equally" took the opportunity to commit the thefts. 
 
 John Broadley, defending, asked for pre-sentence reports on Parker, who has previous theft and shoplifting convictions dating from 2000 to February of last year. 
 
 He said of Parker: "All he can do in the circumstances is first of all plead guilty and apologise for his appalling behaviour that evening." 
 
 Judge David Hernandez said a custodial sentence was "most likely". 
 
 Parker, now of Halifax, will remain in custody until he is sentenced on 30 January. ||||| PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A local couple got hitched at Forbes Hospital after the groom suffered a heart attack on the way to the wedding. 
 
 Bob Adams was 15 minutes away from getting married at the “Jacktown Ride and Hunt Club,” when the 68-year-old realized he was having a heart attack. He popped a nitro pill, not letting anything stand in the way of him marrying Mary Pizzuto. 
 
 “And I started feeling a little funny,” Adams said. “And I thought it was because I was dressed in a suit and tie, which I never wear.” 
 
 “He said that he was getting married one way or another, no matter what,” said paramedic Rob Leuthold. “He wanted it to happen.” 
 
 The couple first met 36 years ago and eventually reconnected on Facebook. 
 
 “My great niece is the one who put my picture on Facebook — and that’s how he found me,” Pizzuto said. 
 
 However, North Huntingdon EMTs insisted they go to the hospital. Adams was in the back with a heart monitor, IV and medication – his bride rode in the front of the ambulance. 
 
 “She was a nervous wreck,” said EMT Beth Walter. “She was up front and an absolute nervous wreck.” 
 
 EMTs were also concerned with what the family said as they left. 
 
 “She herself had had five heart attacks,” said Walter. “So they were all worried about her.” 
 
 But the couple wasn’t going to let the heart attack stop their nuptials. 
 
 The preacher showed up and they got married right there in the emergency room. 
 
 “The preacher come in and the thing I said was, ‘We’re not doing the last rites – we’re doing a marriage,'” Adams said. “And everybody bust out laughing.” 
 
 Adams is recovering from successful angioplasty and the couple plans to spend their honeymoon in Las Vegas. 
 
 In the hospital room, Pizzuto leans over to give Adams a kiss and he says, “that’s my baby.” 
 
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– The heart attack that ultimately killed Michael Clarke Duncan happened in July, the AP reports. The gentle giant of an actor "suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered," reads a statement from Duncan's fiancée, Apprentice-star-turned-minister Omarosa Manigault. Duncan was still being treated at LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center when he died yesterday. The AP notes that Duncan became a vegetarian three years ago, and just this spring did a video for PETA saying he was "a lot healthier" since giving up meat. Duncan and Manigault were planning to wed in January, reports TMZ. Wedding preparations had just begun when Duncan went into full cardiac arrest. Though doctors were flown in to help him, he never left the hospital. Tributes to the actor are rolling in from all corners of Hollywood, but one of the most touching comes from Tom Hanks, Duncan's co-star in The Green Mile. "I am terribly saddened at the loss of Big Mike," Hanks tells Entertainment Tonight. "He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of The Green Mile. He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned."