Oscar- and Emmy-Award Winning Actor Louis Gossett Jr. Dies at 87

Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, has died at the age of 87.

Gossett appeared in more than 110 television shows and 68 films over a seven decade Hollywood career. He won a 1977 Emmy Award for his role in ABC's groundbreaking TV miniseries Roots.

Other television shows Gossett appeared in include The Mod Squad, The Partridge Family, The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, The Josephine Baker Story, Touched By An Angel and The Book of Negroes. In 2020, Gossett’s appearance in HBO’s drama series Watchmen earned him the last of his eight Emmy nominations. 

On the big screen, Gossett in 1983 received an Oscar for his role as a no-nonsense Marine drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman, which starred Richard Gere. Most recently Gossett appeared in the 2023 film The Color Purple.

Celebrities such as Colman Domingo, Stephanie Mills and Sheryl Lee Ralph took to social media in tribute to Gossett. Actor James Woods, who starred with Gossett in the 1992 film Diggstown, called Gossett “a true gentleman.”