Louis Gossett Jr. Has Died At 87
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 13: Special Guest Louis Gossett Jr. speaks onstage at the screening of 'A Raisin in the Sun' at the 2019 TCM 10th Annual Classic Film Festival on April 13, 2019 in Hollywood, California.
Legendary actor Louis Gossett Jr. has died at 87, according to the Associated Press. Gossett was the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar. He won for 1982’s An Officer and A Gentleman; he also won an Emmy for his role in 1978 in the seminal TV series Roots. A statement from his family said that he died Friday morning. No cause of death was revealed.
Gossett’s cousin Neal L. Gossett told the AP that Louis Gossett Jr. was a man who faced racism “with dignity and humor.” He said, “Never mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamor, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu. It’s about the humanity of the people that he stood for.”
He first gained attention via his work on Roots. The eight-night miniseries based on Alex Haley’s 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, aired in January of 1977 and also starred LeVar Burton, John Amos, Ben Vereen and Leslie Uggams, among others. As the Washington Post wrote at the time, “What makes Roots so compellingly unique is that television is finally dealing with the institution of slavery and its effect on succeeding generations of one family in a dramatic form.”
LeVar Burton tweeted about his former co-star, “One of the best to ever do it! Thank you Lou… for everything!”
After winning an Emmy for Roots, he was nominated six more times, including for a role portraying the Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat, who made peace with Israel, in the 1983 TV movie Sadat. In 2015, he told Variety that it was his favorite role. “It was a challenge to play someone with a history like that… He transitioned from a hawk to a dove.”
In 1983, he became the third Black Oscar nominee in the Best Supporting Actor category, according to ABC News. He was the second Black man to win an acting Oscar: the first was Sidney Poitier in 1964. Gossett Jr.’s win, as mentioned, was the first for a Black actor in the Supporting Actor category. As he wrote in his 2010 memoir, An Actor and a Gentleman, “More than anything, it was a huge affirmation of my position as a Black actor.”
“The Oscar gave me the ability of being able to choose good parts in movies like Enemy Mine, Sadat and Iron Eagle,” Gossett said in the 2024 book 50 Oscar Nights, per the BBC Newshour. In that same interview, he said his statue was in storage. “I’m going to donate it to a library so I don’t have to keep an eye on it; I need to be free of it.”
Gossett had relevant roles through the decades: he had a role in a 2013 episode of Boardwalk Empire, and in a 2014 episode of Madam Secretary. He had a recurring role in HBO’s 2019 miniseries Watchmen and was in last year’s remake of The Color Purple.
According to Variety, Gossett was married three times. His first marriage, in 1964, to Hattie Glascoe was annulled. He was married to Christina Mangosing from 1973-75 and to actress Cyndi James Gossett from 1987-92. Both of these marriages ended in divorce.
Survivors include a son, producer Satie Gossett, from Mangosing; an adopted son, Sharron, with Cyndi James Gossett; and a nephew, actor Robert Gossett.
Celebrity Deaths 2024: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost
We have already had to say goodbye to many people in 2024 from the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond.
Among the untimely deaths in 2024 was actor Carl Weathers. The actor best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise died on February 1 at the age of 76. Weathers died in his sleep, but a cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Weathers also notably starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator. Schwarzenegger said in a statement via social media following his death, “Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy. He was the type of friend who pushes you to be your best just to keep up with him. I’ll miss him, and my thoughts are with his family.”
Sylvester Stallone released an emotional video statement honoring Weathers. Stallone said, in part, “Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so torn up, I can’t even tell you. I’m just trying to hold it in because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success — everything about it, I give him incredible credit and kudos. Because when he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness. But I didn’t realize how great. I never could’ve accomplished what we did with ‘Rocky’ without him.”
Toby Keith is another major death in 2024. The country star died on February 1 at age 62 following a battle with stomach cancer. Countless artists from the country world shared tributes to Keith. Among them was Reba McEntire, who shared, “Toby and I are both from Oklahoma and very proud of our Oklahoma heritage. Toby worked very hard to make a mark in the country music business and did a great job doing that. I am very proud of him, and I hope he rests in peace. I was very honored to get to work with Toby and be a part of the era of country music he was in. We’ll sure miss him.”
An unlikely tribute to Keith came from someone who was an unlikely friend: Stephen Colbert. Colbert took a moment during The Late Show to honor his friend, whom he first met when he was the host of The Colbert Report. Colbert said, at the time, there was “a not-so-helpful legend that I had knives out for some of my guests, and it didn’t help that at the beginning, I sometimes did.”
Much to Colbert’s surprise, he and Keith hit it off. He noted, “That day, Toby taught me not to pre-judge my guests and to have my intentions but to keep my eyes open to the reality of who they are. For that lesson and a lot of other things, I am always gonna be grateful.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost, so far, in 2024.
Brian has been working in pop culture and media for about three decades: he’s worked at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Besides working as a writer and an editor-in-chief, he’s also appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio shows and hosted podcasts. Over the years, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer of the Clash and Tom Petty.
