Louis Gossett Jr., who became the first Black man to win the Oscar for best supporting actor for playing a no-nonsense drill sergeant in âAn Officer and a Gentlemanâ (1982), has died, his family said Friday.
He was 87.
“It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning,” the actor’s family said in a statement. “We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the familyâs privacy during this difficult time.”
In an acting career that spanned six decades, Gossett appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, including the film adaptation of Lorraine Hansberryâs âA Raisin in the Sunâ (1961) and big-screen spectacles like âThe Deepâ (1977).
He won an Emmy for playing the old slave Fiddler in the seminal ABC miniseries âRootsâ (1977), acting in three of the programâs eight episodes. He delivered a memorable late-career turn in HBOâs âWatchmenâ (2019), playing a former vigilante known as Hooded Justice. But his portrayal of the tough-as-nails Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in âAn Officer and a Gentleman,â a romantic drama co-starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger, cemented him deepest in the public consciousness.
âThereâs a love-hate relationship between the sergeant and his trainees,â Roger Ebert wrote in his review. âLou Gossett Jr. does such a fine job of fine-tuning the line between his professional standards and his personal emotions that the performance deserves its Academy Award.â Gossettâs triumph at the 55th Academy Awards in 1983 made him only the second Black man to win an acting Oscar, 19 years after Sidney Poitier won for his leading role in âLilies of the Field.â
Louis Gossett Jr. was born May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. He was drawn to athletics as a kid, especially basketball, but an injury kept him from playing for a time and led him to another pursuit: stage acting.When he was in high school, a teacher encouraged him to try out for a play â and that audition resulted in his Broadway debut in the 1953 production of âTake a Giant Step,â a coming-of-age tale about a Black teenager growing up in a predominantly white community.
He graduated from high school a year later and then enrolled at New York University. He continued to pick up acting gigs along the way, including a role in the Broadway version of âThe Desk Set,â as well as small parts on television shows.
Gossettâs most notable stage credit was in the original cast of âA Raisin in the Sun,â a classic play about a Black family searching for a better life. Gossett portrayed the wealthy and pretentious George Murchison, a role he reprised in the 1961 movie version directed by Daniel Petrie.
He continued to act in Broadway and off-Broadway productions during the 1960s. He made his second major film appearance in Hal Ashbyâs dark comedy âThe Landlord,â released in 1970. The same year, he co-starred on the short-lived TV series âThe Young Rebels.â
Gossett landed roles in several lesser-known movies during the early â70s, including âSkin Gameâ (1971), George Cukorâs âTravels With My Auntâ (1972) and âThe Laughing Policemanâ (1973). He played a drug kingpin in âThe Deep,â adapted from a novel by âJawsâ author Peter Benchley.
âRoots,â a sweeping chronicle of the evils of slavery, raised Gossettâs profile, landing him an Emmy in September 1977. Gossettâs fellow nominees in his category were all members of the âRootsâ ensemble: John Amos, LeVar Burton and Ben Vereen. (The series itself claimed six awards, including best limited series.)
Gossett reprised the role of Fiddler in the 1988 television movie âRoots: The Gift.â
âAn Officer and a Gentlemanâ propelled Gossett to national acclaim. He underwent rigorous training for the role, spending 10 days at a school for drill instructors at Camp Pendleton in California, where he marched, ran and practiced karate from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.He was thrilled to receive an Oscar nomination, but he was convinced the supporting actor prize would go to industry veterans Robert Preston (âVictor/Victoriaâ) or James Mason (âThe Verdictâ).
When presenters Christopher Reeve and Susan Sarandon called his name from the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Gossettâs agent jabbed him in the chest, the actor recalled in 2018. âThey said your name,â the agent said.
âI got up as smooth as I possibly could, trying to figure out what I was going to say,â Gossett recalled in an interview with the Television Academy.