Micky Ward's mother, Alice, has died
In this publicity image released by NBC, Melissa Leo accepts the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in "The Fighter," during the Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Credit: AP
One son became a world champion. The other tangled with Sugar Ray Leonard. And the actress who portrayed her in "The Fighter," won an Academy Award. Not a bad life.
Here's the AP obit for Alice Ward:
Alice Ward, the matriarch of a boxing clan who was portrayed in "The Fighter" in an Oscar-winning performance by Melissa Leo, has died. She was 79.
Family friend John Descoteaux says Ward died at a Boston hospital Wednesday, one day after she was taken off life support. She had gone into cardiac arrest in January and stopped breathing for more than 30 minutes.
In "The Fighter," Ward is portrayed as a bleach-blond, boozy, lovingly domineering mother to boxers Micky Ward and his half-brother, Dicky Eklund. Micky Ward rose from his working-class roots and overcame ugly squabbling with his relatives to earn a boxing title shot in 2000, when he was in his mid-30s.
Alice Ward is survived by nine children.
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