Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Gossett's first cousin Neal L. Gossett told The Associated Press that the actor died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California.
Gossett's cousin remembered a man who walked with Nelson Mandela and who also was a great joke teller, a relative who faced and fought racism with dignity and humour.
“Never mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamour, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu. It's about the humanity of the people that he stood for,” his cousin said...
Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries "Roots," which depicted the atrocities of slavery on TV. The sprawling cast included Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton and John Amos.
Gossett became the third Black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983. He won for his performance as the intimidating 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....
From the LA Times obit, re "An Officer and a Gentleman":Gossett's cousin remembered a man who walked with Nelson Mandela and who also was a great joke teller, a relative who faced and fought racism with dignity and humour.
“Never mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamour, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu. It's about the humanity of the people that he stood for,” his cousin said...
Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries "Roots," which depicted the atrocities of slavery on TV. The sprawling cast included Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton and John Amos.
Gossett became the third Black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983. He won for his performance as the intimidating 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....
Gossett knew as soon as he saw the script that playing military taskmaster Emil Foley in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman” was a special opportunity. While Richard Gere, Debra Winger and the other stars stayed in Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, Gossett bunked with a company of Marines miles from the set.
“They put the steel in my butt, so that when I’d walk on the set and shout, ‘Get down and give me 50’ to the cast, by God, they’d do it.”
“They put the steel in my butt, so that when I’d walk on the set and shout, ‘Get down and give me 50’ to the cast, by God, they’d do it.”
