Louis Gossett Jr., Oscar-winning actor in 'An Officer and a Gentleman,' dies at 87

Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win an Oscar for best supporting actor, has died at 87.

Gossett's nephew told The Associated Press that the Emmy Award-winning actor died Thursday in Santa Monica, California. In 1982, Gossett Jr. starred as Marine Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in "An Officer and a Gentleman," for which he scored an Academy Award for best supporting actor and became the first Black man to win in the category.

The Brooklyn-born actor, who attended New York University, became one of the most famous Black actors of his time with decades of commercial and critical acclaim. In addition to his groundbreaking Oscar, the pioneering talent won an Emmy for his role in the TV miniseries "Roots" based on Alex Haley's book of the same name.

Over the years, Gossett became a generational talent on the screen and stage. He scored eight Emmy nominations throughout his career for roles in "Roots," “The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots,” “Backstairs at the White House,” “Palmerstown, U.S.A.,” “Sadat,” “A Gathering of Old Men,” “Touched by an Angel” and most recently in 2020 for the HBO limited series “Watchmen.”

He also starred in stage and screen versions of "A Raisin In The Sun," which helped make him a Hollywood star. In recent years, he has guest-starred or appeared on television series including “Madam Secretary,” “The Book of Negroes,” “The Spoils Before Dying” and “The Good Wife” spinoff “The Good Fight.”

He also played Ol' Mister in last year’s Oprah Winfrey-produced remake of “The Color Purple" starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and Colman Domingo. Gossett received three Golden Globes nominations and won twice for "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "The Josephine Baker Story."

Off screen, his Eracism Foundation was founded to help end racism around the world.

Throughout his life, the actor publicly battled a slew of health struggles. In 2010, Gossett announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and released a statement shared at the time by CNN with the actor saying he wanted "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 preventive examinations and early treatment."

"I count this diagnosis among the many challenges I have faced in my life and overcome," the author of "Actor and a Gentleman" said in the statement. "I expect this to be no different."

A decade later, in December 2020, Gossett was hospitalized with COVID-19.

He leaves behind two children, Satie Gossett and Sharron Gossett.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Louis Gossett Jr. dead: Roots, An Officer and a Gentleman star was 87