Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., the tough guy with a sensitive side best known for his celebrated work in the original Roots and award-winning film, An Officer and a Gentleman, has passed away at the age of 87.
"It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning," Gossett Jr.'s family said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. "We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family's privacy during this difficult time."
The actor's nephew told the AP that he died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California. No cause of death was given, but the actor announced in 2010 that he had prostate cancer.
Gossett was the first black man to win an Oscar for best-supporting actor after putting naval aviation cadet Richard Gere through his paces in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); he was only the third black person to win any Oscar after Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind (1939) and Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field (1963).
The role also brought him the first of two Golden Globes, the other being for The Josephine Baker Story (1991) in which he played an army officer who bonds with the eponymous singer and actress. Previously he received an Emmy award as the enslaved elderly musician Fiddler on an 18th-century plantation in the television series Roots (1977).
His Officer and a Gentleman co-star Richard Gere had only positive things to say about the actor in a new interview with Variety
“We were all proud of the film and Lou was proud of his work in it — and he should be! He was a humble guy,” Gere said as he recalled Gossett’s Oscar win. “We were pleased for him as an artist, and as a man, that he got that recognition.”
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While Gossett’s drill sergeant is best remembered for his brutality, Gere praised his co-star for finding the hidden compassion in the character.
“As tough as Foley was, you always felt this warm heart beating in him,” he said. “That’s why Lou was so effective in that role: he wasn’t just a ‘tough guy’; he was someone who really cared about all those kids that he was mentoring.”
https://youtu.be/RfqGNrwaDTc?si=s96LbDNlUTxhciZ1
In a statement Friday, the film's director and former president of the Directors Guild of America, Taylor Hackford, noted that the part was originally written to be a white man.
“When I visited the Navy Officers Flight Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, I discovered that many of the drill instructors there were men of color,” the director said. “I found it interesting that Black and brown enlisted men had ‘make or break’ control over whether white college graduates would become officers and fighter pilots. At that moment I changed the casting profile for Sgt. Foley and started meeting actors of color."
“Lou Gossett came to see me – I knew and admired his stage work. He told me that he’d served in the US Army as a Ranger, so in addition to being an accomplished actor, he knew military life – I hired him on the spot."
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr was born in Coney Island, New York, on May 27, 1936, the only child of Louis Gossett Sr, a porter, and his wife Hellen (née Wray), who was a maid. An uncle served in a US Army division that helped to liberate German concentration camps and Gossett later narrated a documentary about the soldiers’ experiences.
At school, he excelled in sports until an injury forced his transfer into an acting class, which in turn landed him a role in the 1953 Broadway play Take a Giant Step. More stage appearances followed during his studies at New York University, though after service as a ranger in the US Army he dreamt of playing basketball professionally.
That was abandoned when he played George Murchison in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway with Poitier; later he reminisced about matinee-day poker games with Poitier and Paul Newman. He reprieved the role for Daniel Petrie’s 1961 film of the same name, for which Poitier and Claudia McNeil both received Bafta and Golden Globe nominations.
His Roots co-star LeVar Burton remembered his late colleague and friend on a social media post.
“One of the best to ever do it!,” Burton posted on X/Twitter. “Thank you, Lou… for everything!”
https://youtu.be/nr94It4rrzg?si=WzaSISONtl_LRMvw
