Oscar-Winning Icon from ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ Passes at 87…
Hollywood laments the loss of Louis Gossett Jr., a remarkable actor and activist. The famed actor, 87, is gone. He was famed for powerful roles in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ and the revolutionary TV show ‘Roots’. Gossett made history as the first black man to snag an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, paving the way for future actors of color.
A Storied Career in Theater, TV, and Film. Born in Brooklyn on May 27, 1936, he started on stage. In 1953, he debuted on Broadway, sharing it with the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Sidney Poitier. From Broadway, he went on to star in over 200 Hollywood flicks and TV shows in seven decades.
When he transitioned to screen, he became a star. In 1983, he won an Oscar for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’, a role of toughness and kindness. It was a landmark in Hollywood. His Emmy-winning turn as Fiddler in ‘Roots’ remains one of TV’s most poignant and lauded. It exposed America’s brutal slavery past.