Gio Benitez (00:00):
Tributes are pouring in this morning for a Hollywood Legend Academy Award winner, Louis Gossett Jr. broke down barriers and paved the way for those who would follow him. And ABC's Will Ganss is here with a look back at an illustrious career and life. Good morning. Will.
Will Ganss (00:14): Good morning. Gio. Louis Gossett Jr. was 6'4", and at one point he received an invitation from the New York Knicks to come to training camp in his native Brooklyn. But of course, he would find the spotlight and so much acclaim not on the basketball court, but on stage and on screen.
Sgt. Emil Foley (00:30): You ready to quit now, Mayo?
Will Ganss (00:31): His was a career that wouldn't quit spanning 70 years.
Ol' Mister (00:36): The women at this table have lost their mind.
Will Ganss (00:39): Louis Gossett Jr., a pioneer in theater, film, and television, dead at the age of 87, his cousin telling the AP, "Never mind the awards. Never mind the glitz and glamour. It's about the humanity of the people that he stood for." Gossett, bringing that heartbreaking humanity to his character Fiddler in 1977's groundbreaking miniseries Roots.
Fiddler Reynolds (01:01): What it like to be free African? What it like? Must be something special.
Will Ganss (01:10): At 6'4" tall, Gossett's first love was basketball, but a high school English teacher introduced him to theater. And in 1953, he made his Broadway debut at age 17. In the late '50s, he starred in the original Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, a role he would reprise in the 1961 film version with Sidney Poitier.
George Murchison (01:30): You know, man, you are all whacked up with bitterness.
Walter Lee Younger (01:35): How about you?
Will Ganss (01:35): He would appear on TV shows with Ed Sullivan, Jack Parr, and Merv Griffin, becoming friendly with James Dean and studying acting alongside Marilyn Monroe.
Sgt. Emil Foley (01:46): Went to his room and lined up a hundred.
Will Ganss (01:46): But it was his work in An Officer and a Gentleman in 1983 that made history.
Zack Mayo (01:51): Won't ever forget you, Sergeant.
Sgt. Emil Foley (01:52): I know.
Will Ganss (01:53): Gossett becoming the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Louis Gossett Jr. (01:58): Thank you.
Will Ganss (01:58): Gossett continuing acting, earning Emmy nominations for his work in Watchmen in his eighties, and appearing in the new movie adaptation of The Color Purple this winter. Gossett said he hopes his legacy will be the humanity he brought to each role he played, not defined by the color of his skin.
Speaker 10 (02:14): How would you like to be remembered?
Louis Gossett Jr. (02:17): To be remembered as Louis Gossett Jr., who could be Superman, too.
Will Ganss (02:22): Louie Gossett Jr. was 87 years old, and Coleman Domingo, who played his son in The Color Purple posting on Instagram, "We lost a true legend. He ran his race for us. We are forever indebted. May we stand firmly on his shoulder." You guys?
Gio Benitez (02:36): Oh, it's about the humanity.
Janai Norman (02:38): Yes.
Speaker 13 (02:38): I just love that.
Janai Norman (02:39): And a career spanning seven decades?
Will Ganss (02:41): It's incredible.
Janai Norman (02:42): It's unbelievable.
Will Ganss (02:42): It's absolutely incredible.
Speaker 13 (02:43): Yeah.
Gio Benitez (02:43): And left it so much better for everybody who came after him, too.
Janai Norman (02:46): Yeah.
Speaker 13 (02:47): A hundred percent.
Janai Norman (02:47): A legacy.
Speaker 13 (02:48): A hundred percent.