The American performer Louis Gossett Jr., the first African-American to win an Oscar for best supporting actor, died at the age of 87 in California, his family reported.
The actor, also a winner of an Emmy Award, died in Santa Monica on Friday morning, for reasons that have not been disclosed by the family.
“It is with our deepest regret that we confirm that our beloved father passed away this morning. We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time,” says a statement released by the interpreter’s publicist.
Gossett won an Academy Award for the role of Navy instructor Emil Foley in the film ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ (1982), in which he shared credits with Richard Gere.
When he collected this award, at the age of 46, he was the first African-American performer to win in the best supporting category, and the third overall, after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier.
Previously, the performer had won an Emmy Award for Fiddler, a slave on an 18th century Virginia plantation who served as a mentor in the 1977 television miniseries, ‘Roots’.
The career of Louis Gossett Jr.
Born in 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. made his Broadway debut at the age of 17 while still a high school student.
His first appearance on the big screen was in 1961, in the film ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, alongside Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, although during those years he continued his career on the Broadway stage, with works such as ‘Tambourines to Glory’ and ‘The Zulu and the Zayda’, among others.
His filmography includes titles such as ‘The Landlord’ (1970), ‘The Deep’ (1977) and more recently ‘Curse of the Starving Class’ (1994).
He was also a recurring face on the small screen, where he appeared in more than a hundred series, including ‘Gideon Oliver’ (1989), in which he starred in the role with which the production is titled, as well as in countless television films.
Last year he was seen in the film ‘The Color Purple’, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name and based on a literary work. The actor is survived by his two children, Satie and Sharron Gossett, and several grandchildren.