Louis Gossett Jr. was born on May 27 1936 in Brooklyn, New York. He was class president at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn and participated in such sports as baseball, track, and basketball there. It was when he had a sports injury that he took up acting and he made his stage debut in a high school production of You Can't Take It With You. One of his English teachers suggested he try out for the Broadway production Take a Giant Step. He made his Broadway debut in that play, and received good notices for playing the part of Spencer Scott. He received a dramatics scholarship at New York University and later studied at the Actors Studio, where he befriended James Dean.
Louis Gossett Jr. made his television debut in an episode of The Big Story in 1957. In the Fifties he appeared in the short subject "The New Girl" in 1960. On Broadway he appeared in The Desk Set and A Raisin in the Sun. In the Sixties he reprised his role as George Murchison in the film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun (1962). He also appeared in the films The Bushbaby (1969) and The Landlord (1970). He guest starred on the TV shows The Nurses, East Side/West Side, The Happeners, Cowboy in Africa, The Invaders, Daktari, The Mod Squad, and The Bill Cosby Show. In the 1970-1971 season he played the regular role of Isak Poole on the TV series The Young Rebels. He appeared on Broadway in Tambourines to Glory, Golden Boy, The Zulu and the Zayda, My Sweet Charlie, and Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights.
In the Seventies he played Fiddler in the mini-series Roots and appeared in the mini-series Backstairs at the White House. He starred on the short-lived show The Lazarus Syndrome. He also guest starred on the shows The Partridge Family; Bonanza; Longstreet; The Bold Ones: The New Doctors; Alias Smith and Jones; The Rookies; The Mod Squad; Love, American Style; Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law; McCloud; Lucas Tanner; Petrocelli; Insight; Caribe; Harry O; Good Times; The Jeffersons; The Six Million Dollar Man; Police Story; Little House on the Prairie; The Rockford Files; and Visions. He appeared in the movies Skin Game (1971), Travels with My Aunt (1972), The Laughing Policeman (1972), The White Dawn (1974), The River Niger (1976), J.D.'s Revenge (1976), The Deep (1977), The Choirboys (1977), and It Rained All Night the Day I Left (1980). He appeared on Broadway in Murderous Angels.
In the Eighties Louis Gossett Jr. was a regular on the TV series The Powers of Matthew Star and starred on the show Gideon Oliver. He guest starred on the shows Palmerstown, U.S.A.; Straight Up; and American Playhouse. He played Sgt. Emil Foley in the movie An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), for which the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was the first Black actor to do so. He also appeared in the movies Jaws 3-D (1983), Finders Keepers (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), Iron Eagle (1986), Firewalker (1986), The Principal (1987), Iron Eagle II (1988), and The Punisher (1989).
In the Nineties Louis Gossett Jr. appeared in the movies Cover Up (1991), Toy Soldiers (1991), Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992), Diggstown (1992), Monolith (1993), Blue Chips (1994), A Good Man in Africa (1994), Curse of the Starving Class (1994), Flashfire (1994), Iron Eagle IV (1995), Managua (1997), Legend of the Mummy (1998), Y2K (1999), and The Highwayman (2000). On television he appeared in the mini-series Return to Lonesome Dove. He was a voice on the animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He guest starred on the shows Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel, Promised Land, Early Edition, and Ellen. He was a guest voice on the animated series Hercules.
In the Naughts he appeared in the movies Deceived (2002), Left Behind III: World at War (2005), All In (2006), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Cover (2007), Stories USA (2007), The Least Among You (2009), The Perfect Game (2009), Shannon's Rainbow (2009), Why Did I Get Married Too? (2009), The Grace Card (2010), and The Lamp (2010). On television he had a recurring role on Stargate SG-1 and was a recurring voice actor on the animated series The Batman. He guest starred on the shows Resurrection Blvd., The Dead Zone, Half & Half, and ER. He was a guest voice on the animated series Family Guy. He appeared on Broadway in Chicago.
In the Teens Louis Gossett Jr. had roles on the TV shows Extant and Hap & Leonard. He had a recurring role on the mini-series The Book of Negroes, The Spoils Before Dying, and Watchmen. He guest starred on the shows Psych, Boardwalk Empire, Madam Secretary, The Good Fight, and Hawaii Five-0. He appeared in the movies Smitty (2012), The Undershepherd (2012), Breaking at the Edge (2013), Pride of Lions (2014), Boiling Pot (2015), King of the Dancehall (2016), Double Play (2017), Undercover Grandpa (2017), Breaking Brooklyn (2018), Supervized (2019), Miracle in East Texas (2019), Foster Boy (2019), The Cuban (2019), Canaan Land (2020), and The Reason (2020).
In the 2020s, he appeared in the movies Not to Forget (2021), Three Months (2022), and The Color Purple (2023). He guest starred on the show Kingdom Business.
Louis Gossett Jr. was an extremely talented actor who played a wide variety of roles. In A Raisin in the Son he played George, who has assimilated into white culture and tends to think he is smarter than those around him. In Skin Game he played one half of a pair of con men with James Garner. On Roots he played Fiddler, the somewhat obliging slave who is assigned to teach Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) English and how to behave as a slave. He was the hard-as-nails s Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. In the mini-series he played Will Reeves, the grandfather of police officer/superhero Sister Night. Over the years Louis Gossett Jr. played everything from medical doctors to military officers to clergymen, and he did all of them well.
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