ACTOR
Louis Gossett Jr.
19 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (19)
- #001
Louis Gossett Jr. was cast in his Oscar-winning role in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) after Jack Nicholson turned the part down and none of the other actors the producers wanted were available at the time. Screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart later researched at a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, and learned that the best drill instructors there were African-American. Noticing this, Gossett was cast in what may now be his best-remembered role.
- #002
Gossett was originally cast as Gale Sayers in the television film Brian's Song (1971). Only days before shooting began, he tore his Achilles tendon while working on the film. Studio executives scrambled and immediately hired Billy Dee Williams as his replacement. Devastated at missing his shot, Gossett was promised by producer David L. Wolper the first great role that came along. About six years later, Wolper called Gossett to play Fiddler in Roots (1977), the Emmy-winning role that made him a star.
- #003
Gossett tried out for the New York Knickerbockers. He did not go on to play in the NBA. He appeared in the film A Raisin in the Sun (1961) and chose to pursue acting instead.
- #004
His foundation, Eracism, is dedicated to eliminating racism.
- #005
He attended Woodstock. He said, "I wanted to be in the now. There were a lot of people there in the now. Anywhere something exciting was happening, we were there."
- #006
On May 20, 1992, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #007
On the night of August 9, 1969, he was at another party with members of the band the Mamas and the Papas when he and others were invited to a party at Sharon Tate's house in Los Angeles. Gossett went home to shower and change clothes, and was about to leave when he saw a news report on television that Tate had been killed by Charles Manson and his followers.
- #008
He was friends with John Amos, Esther Rolle and Cicely Tyson.
- #009
In February 2010, he announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
- #010
He was considered for the role of Lieutenant Ted Traxler in The Terminator (1984), which went to Paul Winfield.
- #011
In the early 1990s, Rich Little offered him the chance to do his opening show in Las Vegas, but he turned it down, an action he deeply regretted. He sent his wife, Cynthia L. James, in his place.
- #012
He and his former wife, Cynthia L. James, have an adopted son.
- #013
He was one of two actors considered, along with Stacy Keach, for the role of the SGC's new commander, General Hank Landry, in Stargate SG-1 (1997). The role went to Beau Bridges instead, but Gossett was cast as the Jaffa leader Gerak.
- #014
In Enemy Mine (1985), he was the first male shown giving birth on screen, in the role of Jeriba "Jerry" Shigan.
- #015
He attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.
- #016
He was honored with the 1970 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Performance for the play "Murderous Angels" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, California.
- #017
He was proud of his co-star Richard Gere's performance in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), and although Gossett won an Oscar for his own work in the film, he expressed frustration that the Academy did not nominate Gere for Best Actor. He said Gere should have been nominated and won Best Actor for his work in the film.
- #018
He was survived by two sons, Satie and Sharron Gossett, and several grandchildren.
- #019
In the film IF (2024), Louis Gossett Jr. voiced Lewis, who lives in a retirement village on Coney Island. Louis Gossett Jr. was born on Coney Island.
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