Louis Gosset Jr, known for his roles in Iron Eagle (1982), Enemy Mine (1985), The Color Purple (2023), and Roots (1977) has died at the age of 87.

According to a statement from the family’s publicist, “It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning. We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

Gosset made history when he became the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Role in 1983 for his work in An Officer And A Gentleman. 

His co-star on the film, Richard Gere said in a statement about Gosset, “Lou was a sweetheart. He took his job very seriously. He did his research. He stayed in character the whole time. He was the drill sergeant 24 hours a day, and it showed clearly in his performance. He drove every scene he was in. A tough guy with a heart of gold.”

The actor was born in Brooklyn, New York, Gosset says he has a high school English teacher, who encouraged Gosset to act, to thank for his career. Gosset’s talents didn’t stop at at acting with Gosset playing basketball throughout high school, and even trying out for the new York Knicks. Gosset went on the study drama at New York University.

Gosset’s career started with his production of Raisin In The Sun on stage, and then later in the movie adaptation. Outside of his acting career, Gosset founded the Eracism Foundation in the early 90s. The foundation was commited to ending racism.

Gosset said about racism in Hollywood, “I had to really learn the importance of what it takes to survive in this town, and I had to act if I was second class. I had to ingest the onus of being an African American person in America.”

Gosset was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010, and had been battling with the diagnosis since. Gosset went public with his cancer saying he wanted to “set an example for the large number of African-American men who are victims of this disease because of the comparatively low emphasis in our community on preventive examinations and early treatment.”

Gosset’s last role was in last year’s musical movie adaptation of The Color Purple.