Louis Gossett Jr has died at the age of 87. The actor, most known for his roles in Roots and An Officer and a Gentleman – for which he became the first Black
Actor to win the best supporting actor Oscar -died on Thursday night. His nephew confirmed the sad news to the Associated Press, but did not share his cause of death. The New York-born star found his passion for acting at a young age, landing a role in 1953 Broadway play Take A Giant Step at a teenager. Despite having a passion for sport, he decided to pursue a bigger career in the spotlight, and starred opposite Sidney Poitier in the award-winning A Raisin In The Sun six years later. After the huge success of the play, he made his cinematic debut in the movie adaption of the play, in 1961, before returning to the stage in Blacks, alongside James Earl Jones and Maya Angelou, later that same year. Speaking to NPR in 2010, Gossett Jr revealed that his talent was a surprise to himself, confessing: I knew nothing about acting. ‘I had never even seen a play.’ In 1977, he landed one of his most beloved roles in TV mini-series Roots, also starring John Amos, LeVar Burton and Leslie Uggams. He shot to superstardom as an older slave, Fiddler, who is tasked with mentoring Kunta Kinte and teaching him English. The series was a huge success, landing 37 Emmy nominations during its run – with Gossett Jr taking home the award for outstanding actor for a single appearance in a drama or
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BBC star claims Paul O'Grady's ghost is 'haunting' them Five years later, he appeared as drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. In Tyler Hackford’s masterpiece, he played a stern drill instructor who had to get Richard Gere’s Zack Mayo into shape – and underwent 30 days of training at the Marine Corps Recruitment Division. Unpacking the role in his 2010 biography, aptly titled An Actor and a Gentleman, he recalled: ‘I knew I had to put myself through at least some degree of this all-encompassing transformation.’ He was highly praised over the role, and won the best supporting actor Oscar in 1983 – becoming the first Black actor to take home the coveted trophy. As well as this, he was also awarded the best supporting actor in a motion picture title at the
Golden Globes. From there, Gossett Jr starred in Toy Soldiers, Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy, A Fighting Man, ER and Boardwalk Empire. One of his final roles came in The Color Purple in 2023, as Ol’ Mr Johnson. This is a
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