‘Officer and a Gentleman’ Oscar Winner Was 87

Louis Gossett Jr. won a supporting actor Oscar for his role as a ruthless drill sergeant in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman,” and a few years earlier he had won a supporting actor Oscar for his role as the cunning Fiddler in “Roots.” won an Emmy Award. died, according to the Associated Press. He is 87 years old.

In Tyler Hackford’s An Officer and a Gentleman, Gossett’s Sgt. Memorably, Emile Foley pushes Richard Gere’s character to near-breakdown at a naval flight school. Gossett was the first black man to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role.

In addition to “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Gossett is also known for the film “Hostile Mine” (1985), in which he played an alien who finds himself in a dangerous situation with an astronaut played by Dennis Quaid. When in danger, he is forced to come to terms with his human enemies. In “Iron Eagle” (1986), he played an Air Force veteran who helps a young pilot search for his father who was shot down and captured.

After winning an Emmy in 1978 for “Roots,” Gossett received six more Emmy nominations over the years. He was nominated for his portrayal of the Egyptian president who made peace with Israel in the 1983 TV movie “Sadat.” He was also nominated for his performance in the 1978 variety special “The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots”; for his role as Levi Mercer in the 1979 NBC miniseries “The Back Staircase”; in 1981, for his role in the television series “The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots”. “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”; won the award for Lead Actor in the miniseries or special “Old Man’s Party” (1987), directed by Walker Schlondorff, in which he co-starred with Richard Weed Mark co-starred with Holly Hunter; in 1997, he had a recurring role as Anderson Walker on CBS’s “Touched by an Angel.”

In his 70s, Gossett is still working hard, and in 2013 he memorably made a cameo on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” playing Charl, the mentor to Michael Kenneth Williams’ character Chalky. Key met him again while on the run.

He also recently starred as Quinn in CBS’ Halle Berry sci-fi thriller “Extant” and guest-starred on “Madam Secretary” (2014) .

Gossett first came to widespread attention with her landmark miniseries Roots, and later starred in another miniseries about slavery, BET’s The Book of Negroes, in 2015.

questioner type In 2015, which character was Gossett’s favorite, he responded: “Anwar Sadat. It’s a challenge to play a man with such a history. His spirit is very Mandela-like. He transforms from a hawk to a dove. He Lost his brother and the one he loved. He said he was willing to step into Israel in the name of peace. Mandela was willing to come out of prison with a smile on his face.”

Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. At 17, he made his stage debut in a school production of You Can’t Take It With You; a sports injury prompted his decision to take acting classes. He also battled polio while growing up. He received an athletic scholarship but paid his own way to New York University, where the tall young man could have played varsity basketball but declined in favor of theatrical pursuits.

In 1953, Gossett made his Broadway debut, although he had no formal training as an actor, replacing Bill Gunn as Spencer Scott in “One Giant Step,” which was reviewed by The New York Times Critics rated it one of the top ten Broadway shows. Year.first time he mentioned type for his work on the show.

Other Broadway credits include the classic 1959-60 original production of A Raisin in the Sun, in which he played George Murchison, the wealthy and well-educated daughter of the Younger family, Beneatha ‘s boyfriend; George, who denies his African ancestry, represents the fully assimilated black man. Gossett made his big screen debut reprising the role in the 1961 film version of A Raisin in the Sun. (Earlier, he had a smaller role in the original comedy “The Desk,” which, thankfully, was also a hit.)

In 1963 he appeared at the Rialto Theater in Langston Hughes’ adaptation of Tambourines to Glory and in the controversial hit musical Golden Boy starring Sammy Davis Jr. Serving as an understudy, Gossett played Mephistopheles’ boxing promoter Eddie Sardin. He is also one of the stars of the original musical Zulu and Zaida, which tells the story of a Jewish man and a black man bridging the racial gap in Johannesburg.

In 1968, Gossett starred with Diane Ladd and others in Sidney Poitier’s play “Take Me Back to Morningside Heights” and in 1971 played the assassinated African in the play “Murder Angels” Leader Patrice Lumumba.

Decades later, in 2002, Gossett returned to Broadway, replacing Billy Flynn in the musical “Chicago.”

As one of the show’s executive producers, Gossett won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Special for 1997’s “In His Father’s Shoes,” for which he was nominated for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Special. He plays a man suffering from cancer who shares a magical experience with his son.

He was also nominated for the Outstanding Special Class Award at the 2002 Salt Lake Paralympics Opening Ceremony and served as commentator.

Later in his career, Gossett continued to play roles on television and in movies. He appeared in seven episodes of the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries “Watchmen” and had a starring role in the 2020 religious drama “The Reason.” He also appears in the 2023 remake of The Color Purple.

Gossett was married three times. In 1964, his first marriage to Hattie Glascoe was annulled. He was married to Christina Mangosing (1973-75), with whom he had one son, and actress Cyndi James Gossett (1987-92). Both marriages ended in divorce.

Survivors include a son, producer Satie Gossett of Mangosing; adopted son Sharon with Cindy James Gossett; and a nephew, actor Robert Gossett.