Louis Gossett Jr., Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman, has died. He was 87 years old and passed away in Santa Monica, California.
The causes of his death are not known. The actor was the first African American to receive the Oscar for his supporting role in the 1983 film with Richard Gere. He also received an Emmy for his performance as Violin in the miniseries Roots (1977) He was the third African-American performer in history to win the award after Hattie McDaniel in 1940 for Gone with the Wind and Sidney Poitier in 1964.