Louis Gossett Jr., who was the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, died on Thursday, March 28
Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. has died. He was 87.
The actor’s cousin Neal L. Gossett confirmed his death to the Associated Press, revealing that Louis died on Thursday, March 28, in Santa Monica, California. A cause of death has not been publicly shared.
“Never mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamour, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu,” Neal told the outlet. “It’s about the humanity of the people that he stood for.”
Louis got his big break in 1953 at the age of 16 when he made his Broadway debut in Take a Giant Step. Six years later, he landed the role of George Jurchison in the New York stage production of A Raisin in the Sun opposite Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands.
