Louis Gossett Jr. recently graced theater screens around the world as the father of Colman Domingo’s Mister in The Color Purple. That was one of the veteran’s last roles before passing away on March 29, 2024.
Gossett Jr. was 87 when he died at a rehabilitation center in Santa Monica, California, per the Associated Press, although the cause of death has not been made public. The actor’s decade-spanning career broke many barriers and in the words of The Color Purple star Fantasia Barrino, “paved the way for Black actors and actresses” in Hollywood. The thespian won several accolades since kick-starting his journey on Broadway in the 1950s at 17 years old.
Did Louis Gossett Jr. ever win an Oscar?
Yes. Louis Gossett Jr. won an Oscar in 1982 for his performance as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. He became the first Black man to win in the Best Supporting Actor category, the second Black man to win in any of the acting categories, and only the third Black man to win an Academy Award overall.
Gossett Jr., whose career was divided between the big screen, the small screen, and the stage, also won two Golden Globes — one also for the aforementioned 1982 Taylor Hackford romantic drama film An Officer and a Gentleman, and another for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Made for Television for The Josephine Baker Story in 1992. His work as an executive producer on the 1997 television movie In His Father’s Shoes won him a Daytime Emmy Award, while his appearance on the acclaimed show Roots won Gossett Jr. his only Primetime Emmy Award in 1977. He played Fiddler in the second episode of the eight-part historical drama mini-series about the fictional Kunta Kinte, an African man captured and sold into slavery in the 18th century, and his descendants’ lives in the United States until the 20th century.
The award-winning actor was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. He is survived by his two sons.