As celebrities and fans mourn the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, Connecticut litigator Josh Koskoff recalled how his parents had a front-row seat to “Marshall,” the role that kick-started Boseman’s movie career.

Boseman, who was battling colon cancer for four years, died of the disease at age 43. He leaves behind highlights of a short but dazzling career in which he played King T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther.” But the actor also portrayed such iconic figures in American Black history as Jackie Robinson, James Brown and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.