Louis Gossett Jr. | |
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Gossett in February 2008
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Born |
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. May 27, 1936 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1957–present |
Spouse(s) | Hattie Glascoe (1967–1968; annulled) Christina Mangosing (1973–1975) Cyndi James-Reese (1987–1992) |
Children | 2 |
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, and his Emmy Award-winning role as Fiddler in the 1977 ABC television miniseries Roots. Gossett has also starred in numerous film productions including A Raisin In The Sun, The Landlord. Skin Game, Travels with My Aunt, The Laughing Policeman, The Deep, Jaws 3-D (1983), Wolfgang Petersen's Enemy Mine, the Iron Eagle series, Toy Soldiers and The Punisher, in an acting career that spans over five decades.
Gossett was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, on May 27, 1936, to Hellen Rebecca (née Wray), a nurse, and Louis Gossett Sr., a porter. He is an alumnus of Mark Twain Intermediate School 239 and Abraham Lincoln High School. His stage debut came at the age of 17, in a school production of You Can't Take It with You when a sports injury resulted in the decision to take an acting class. Polio had already delayed his graduation.