Profile Text
Gossett in 2015, photo by kathclick /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr.
Date of Birth: May 27, 1936
Place of Birth: Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: March 29, 2024
Place of Death: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: African-American
Louis Gossett, Jr. was an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). His roles also include the films The Landlord , Skin Game , Travels with My Aunt , The Laughing Policeman , The White Dawn , The Deep (1977), Enemy Mine , Iron Eagle , and its sequels; The Principal , The Punisher (1989), Toy Soldiers (1991), Jasper, Texas , and The Color Purple (2023); television’s Bonanza , The Jeffersons , Roots , The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots , Palmerstown, U.S.A. , Sadat (1983), A Gathering of Old Men , American Playhouse , Touched by an Angel , Stargate SG-1 , Left Behind: World at War , Boardwalk Empire , The Book of Negroes , and Watchmen (2019); and many acclaimed stage performances.
Louis was the son of Helen/Hellen, a nurse, and Louis Gossett, a porter. His father was from South Carolina. His mother was from Georgia. According to a DNA test, he had ancestry from Liberia and Sierra Leone. His cousin was actor Robert Gossett. He had a son with his former wife Christina Mangosing; and a son, who was adopted, with his former wife, Star Search champion Cyndi James-Reese.
Louis’s paternal grandfather was named Lacy Gossett, Jr. (the son of Lacy/Latha “Green, Jr.” Gossett, Sr. and Louise). Louis’s grandfather Lacy was born in South Carolina. Louis’s great-grandfather Lacy was a preacher, and was the son of Green Gossett, Sr.
Louis’s paternal grandmother was named Ida/Ada. Ida was born in South Carolina.
Louis’s maternal grandfather was named Tennie Ray. Tennie was born in Georgia.
Louis’s maternal grandmother was named Eddie. Eddie was born in Georgia.
Sources: Family history of Louis Gossett, Jr. – http://rootsrevealed.blogspot.ca
Louis’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Louis’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org