Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. has died at the age of 87. The American actor's family said in a statement on Friday: “It is with deep sadness that we confirm that our beloved father passed away this morning. Cossette was honored with Hollywood's most coveted trophy in 1983, becoming the first black supporting actor, for his portrayal of the fearsome US Marine instructor Emil Foley in the film 'An Officer and a Gentleman.' .
Before her, only two blacks had won an acting Oscar: Hattie McDaniel (1940) for best supporting actress in “Gone with the Wind” and Sidney Poitier for leading actor in “Lilies of the Field” (1964). “More than anything, it cemented my position as a black actor,” Gossett later said of the award in his memoirs.
In this 2010 book, Gossette wrote openly about the racism she encountered early on in Hollywood. Among other things, he was handcuffed to a tree after being stopped for a nighttime walk in Beverly Hills. He also spoke about the difficulties in finding work, unequal pay compared to white actors, and his struggle against drugs and alcohol.
Born on May 27, 1936, the New York native was already on stage at the age of 17. The 1.90-meter-tall student could have had a career in basketball, but Cosette chose acting. He made his film debut in 1961 in the drama “A Spot in the Sun” opposite Poitier. His television role as a slave in the Southern series “Roots” (1977) earned him an Emmy Award.
Cosset did not allow himself to be limited to social dramas: he played a gangster in the adventure film “The Deep” with Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte, and he played an alien in Wolfgang Peterson's sci-fi film “Enemy Mine – Beloved Enemy”. He was seen as a fighter pilot in the action series “The Steel Eagle”.
The actor, producer, director, social activist and founder of the Racism Foundation, who worked to fight racism, died at a rehabilitation center in California, The Washington Post reported.
