(ProsperNews.net) – Actor Louis Gossett Jr has died at age 87. His family issued a statement asking for privacy and thanking well-wishers for their condolences, including from independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who called Mr. Gossett a good friend and ally with whom he had fought “many political, civil rights, and environmental battles.”
Fellow actor James Woods expressed similar sentiments. He described a lifelong friendship with Gossett, whom he admired for his talent and modesty. “A true gentleman,” he wrote. Some lawmakers also remembered the actor, including Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who labeled him an American treasure whose reach stretched well beyond Hollywood.
Richard Gere, who starred with Gossett in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” said his co-star was a committed actor who stayed in character and conducted extensive research. Mr. Gossett was the first black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1983 for playing gunner sergeant Emil Foley in the movie, and would later win an Emmy for his part in the Civil War drama “Roots.”
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1936, Gossett first appeared on stage at age 17 and continued a stage career, including on Broadway, until 1977, when he won a defining role in “Roots.” In addition to his Oscar and Emmy victories, Gossett won two Golden Globes, two Daytime Emmys, and seven Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations.
The accomplished actor had, however, suffered from illness at numerous points throughout his life. He entered rehab in 2004, struggling with alcohol and cocaine addiction, and during the 1990s, doctors warned he did not have long to live.
Gossett married three times. His first marriage to Hattie Glascoe ended in annulment. He married again in 1973, but this did not last either, and the couple divorced two years later after having one son. The actor’s third wedding to Cyndi James-Reese took place on Christmas Day 1987. They divorced in 1992.
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