UB In Memoriam: Legendary Actor Louis Gossett, Jr.

Legendary actor Louis Gossett, Jr. passed away at the age of 87.

Louis Gossett died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California. The actor’s cause of death has not yet been released.

Louis Gossett, Jr. was born on May 27th, 1936 in Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, to Hellen Rebecca, a nurse, and Louis Gossett, Sr., a porter.

His stage debut came at the age of 17, in a school production of “You Can’t Take It with You” when a sports injury resulted in the decision to take an acting class. Polio had already delayed his graduation

After graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1954, he attended New York University, declining an athletic scholarship. Standing 6’4?, he was offered the opportunity to play varsity basketball during his college years at NYU, which he declined to concentrate on theater. His high school teacher had encouraged him to audition for a Broadway part, which resulted in his selection for a starring role on Broadway in 1953 from among 200 other actors well before he entered NYU.

Gossett stepped into the world of cinema in the Sidney Poitier vehicle “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1961. However, in 1953 he made Broadway history appearing as a star in “Take a Giant Step,” which was selected by the New York Times drama critics as one of the 10 best shows of the year. He was 19, and still a student at Abraham Lincoln High School, with no formal drama training. He had been delayed in graduating by a bout with polio. He entered NYU in 1954, declining a basketball scholarship to participate in their theater arts program.

His acting career soon flourished and his work in the stage and film versions of the groundbreaking drama about a black family life in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961) proved a watershed. This led to numerous appearances on network series in the 1960s and 70s culminating in 1977, when he won an Emmy for his eloquent portrayal of Fiddler in the landmark ABC miniseries “Roots.”

Meanwhile, his big screen reputation grew with critically acclaimed work in such comedies as “The Landlord” (1970) and “Travels with My Aunt” (1972) and the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning drama “The River Niger” (1975). A riveting performance as a drug-dealing cut-throat stalking Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset in “The Deep” (1977) catapulted Gossett to wider popularity, but the tough by-the-book drill sergeant in “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982) won him a Best Supporting Oscar that consolidated his place in the Hollywood hierarchy.

Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr.

First Broadway Play: Take a Giant Step (1953)

First TV Appearance: The Big Story (1958)

First Hollywood Film: A Raisin In the Sun (1961)

Outstanding Lead Actor Emmy: Roots (1977)

Best Supporting Oscar: An Officer and a Gentleman
(1982)

Best Supporting Golden Globe: An Officer and a
Gentleman (1982)

Best Supporting Golden Globe: The Josephine Baker
Story (1991)

Primetime Emmy Nominations: 7

While his Oscar win did not bring the avalanche of plum movie roles anticipated, he still made regular big screen appearances, being singled out for his work as a razor sharp con-man in the comedy thriller “Finders Keepers” (1984), the sci-fi adventure “Enemy Mine” (1985) where his lizard-like makeup won kudos, and in the action adventure trilogy “Iron Eagle” (1985, 1986, 1992) which introduced him to a whole new generation of moviegoers.

Still going strong in the 90s, in 1992 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Gossett has also received numerous other honors throughout his illustrious career.

Louis Gossett Jr. appeared in over 50 movies and hundreds of television shows between 1971 and 1999. Some of the more popular shows he appeared in (listed in chronological order): Skin Game, The Deep, Don’t Look Back: The Story of Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Sadat, Finders Keepers, Enemy Mine, Firewalker, Iron Eagle, A Gathering of Old Men, The Principal, The Father Clements Story, Diggstown, Return to Lonesome Dove, Curse of the Starving Class, A Good Man in Africa, Ray Alexander, Captive Heart: The James Mink Story, Y2K, and Lackawanna Blues.

He won a Golden Globe Award for HBO’s “The Josephine Baker Story” in 1991.

Other film credits include “The Deep,” “Blue Chips,” “Daddy’s Little Girls,” Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?,” “Firewalker,” “Jaws-3D,” “Enemy Mine” and “Iron Eagle” among many others.

Television credits include “Extant,” “Madam Secretary,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Family Guy” and “ER,” among dozens of others.

Louis Gossett, Jr.’s latest role, was in the current season of the BET+ series “Kingdom Business.”

Louis Gossett, Jr. is recognized as much for his humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments as an actor. In 2006, he founded The Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating racism. The foundation provides young adults with tools to live a racially diverse and culturally inclusive life. Programs focus on fostering cultural diversity, historical enrichment, education and anti-violence initiatives.

In 2010, he authored the bestselling autobiography “An Actor and a Gentleman,” in which he chronicles the challenges and triumphs of his 50+ year career.

UB Sends Our Condolences to the Family, Friends, and Fans of The Amazing Louis Gossett, Jr.!