American actor Louis Gossett Jr., the first black actor to win the Oscar for best supporting actor, has died at the age of 87, American media reported on Friday.
He died Thursday evening in Los Angeles of unspecified causes, according to his family cited by media including CBS. When contacted, its representatives did not respond immediately.
🕊️ The great actor Louis Gosset Jr has just left us. pic.twitter.com/tzzxpNhvrw
— BET (@BET_FR) March 29, 2024
More than sixty films to his credit
Louis Gossett Jr. was awarded the Oscar in 1983 for his portrayal of a drill sergeant in the film “An Officer and a Gentleman,” becoming the third black actor after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier to win the statuette. This film also won him a Golden Globe.
Very prolific, the actor has appeared in more than 60 films, including "The Deep", "Blue Chips", "Daddy's Little Girls", "Firewalker" and "Jaws 3 ".
The actor also starred in multiple television series including the cult series “Roots”, which attracted more than 100 million viewers during its “finale” in January 1977.
He has also been nominated six times for an Emmy, the most prestigious award in television, notably for his interpretation of Anwar Sadat in the series “Sadat”, in 1983. In 2015, he declared to Variety magazine that his role in the TV movie, that of the Egyptian leader who made peace with Israel, was his favorite.
“It was a challenge to play someone with such a history. His spirit was very close to that of Mandela. He went from a hawk to a dove,” said the actor.
Difficult beginnings in the world of cinema
The New York native, who announced in 2010 that he was suffering from prostate cancer, cultivated a tough guy image in action films, including “Iron Eagle” (1986).
In his memoir, "Actor and Gentleman," he recounts his difficult beginnings as a black actor, including his first trip to Los Angeles in the 1960s, during which he was arrested by police four times during just one car ride.
Born in Brooklyn on May 27, 1936, Louis Gosset Jr. made his stage debut in "Take a Giant Step," which was selected as one of the ten best Broadway shows of 1953 by the New York Times.
Divorced from his third wife in 1992, he lived in Malibu, California and was the father of two sons.