An Officer and a Gentleman star Louis Gossett Jr dies aged 87

Roots actor Louis Gossett Jr has died aged 87 (Picture: Getty)

Louis Gossett Jr has died at the age of 87.

The actor, most known for his roles in Roots and An Officer and a Gentleman – for which he became the first Black actor to win the best supporting actor Oscar -died on Friday morning.

His nephew confirmed the sad news to the Associated Press, but did not share his cause of death.

The New York-born star found his passion for acting at a young age, landing a role in 1953 Broadway play Take A Giant Step at a teenager.

Despite having a passion for sport, he decided to pursue a bigger career in the spotlight, and starred opposite Sidney Poitier in the award-winning A Raisin In The Sun six years later.

After the huge success of the play, he made his cinematic debut in the movie adaption, in 1961, before returning to the stage in Blacks, alongside James Earl Jones and Maya Angelou, later that same year.

Louis’ death was confirmed by his nephew(Picture: AP)

Speaking to NPR in 2010, Gossett Jr revealed that his talent was a surprise to himself, confessing: I knew nothing about acting.

‘I had never even seen a play.’

In 1977, he landed one of his most beloved roles in TV mini-series Roots, beside John Amos, LeVar Burton and Leslie Uggams.

He shot to superstardom as an older slave, Fiddler, who is tasked with mentoring Kunta Kinte and teaching him English.

He took home an Oscar for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman (Picture: Paramount)

The series was a huge success, landing 37 Emmy nominations during its run – with Gossett Jr taking home the award for outstanding actor for a single appearance in a drama or comedy series.

Five years later, he appeared as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman.

In Tyler Hackford’s masterpiece, he played a stern drill instructor who had to get Richard Gere’s Zack Mayo into shape – and underwent 30 days of training at the Marine Corps Recruitment Division for the role.

Unpacking his efforts in his 2010 biography, aptly titled An Actor and a Gentleman, he recalled: ‘I knew I had to put myself through at least some degree of this all-encompassing transformation.’

He made history as the first Black man to win the best supporting actor Oscar (Picture: AP)

He was highly praised over the role, and won the best supporting actor Oscar in 1983 – becoming the first Black actor to take home the coveted trophy.

As well as this, he was also awarded the best supporting actor in a motion picture title at the Golden Globes.

From there, Gossett Jr starred in Toy Soldiers, Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy, A Fighting Man, ER and Boardwalk Empire.

One of his final roles came in The Color Purple in 2023, as Ol’ Mr Johnson.

Louis continued commanding the screen for years (Picture: AP)

In 2010, Gossett Jr announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was said to have been caught in the early stages.

Going public with his health issues, he shared that he wanted to use his platform to encourage others to get themselves checked out.

Speaking to reporters at the time, he explained that he was hoping to ‘set an example for the large number of African-American men who are victims of this disease because of the comparatively low emphasis in our community on preventative examinations and early treatment.

‘I want to influence them to seek, as I have, the fine medical care and early detection now available.’

Gossett Jr is survived by two sons, Satie and Sharron.

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