Louis Gossett Jr, the first Black man to win an Oscar Award for best supporting actor, has died. He was 87-years-old. PHoto via ABC News)
March 29, 2024
US actor Louis Gossett Jr is dead
LOS ANGELES, United States — Louis Gossett Jr, the first Black man to win an Oscar Award for best supporting actor, as well as an Emmy for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” has died.
He was 87 years old.
According to a report from The Associated Press, the actor died in Santa Monica, California on Friday morning. No cause of death was revealed.
Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries “Roots,” which, according to AP News, depicted the atrocities of slavery on TV.
Gossett became the third Black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983 when he won for his performance in “An Officer and a Gentleman.”
He also won a Golden Globe for the same role.
