By: Jarrod Horton
Staff Writer
Louis Gossett Jr. has been acting for over half a century. The veteran actor made his debut on Broadway in the play “Take a Giant Step” in 1953 at age 16. Since then, he acted on the stage, on television, and in movies.
He became the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the TV miniseries “Roots. He won again in 1983, for his performance as a Marine drill instructor in “An Officer and a Gentleman” opposite Richard Gere and Debra Winger. He also won a Golden Globe for the same role.
“More than anything, it was a huge affirmation of my position as a Black actor,” he said in his 2010 memoir, “An Actor and a Gentleman.”
Gossett Jr. passed away Friday morning at the age of 87. He was survived by sons Satie, a producer-director from his second marriage, and Sharron, a chef whom he adopted after seeing the 7-year-old in a TV segment on children in desperate situations. His first cousin is actor Robert Gossett.
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