Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. has died. The Malibu resident will not only be remembered for his career-defining role as a hard nosed drill sergeant in the 1982 movie “An Officer and a Gentleman “ but also for his Emmy winning performance as a slave named “Fiddler” in the influential American TV classic miniseries “Roots.”
The Brooklyn, New York raised Gossett was also a civil rights activist. He founded the Eracism Foundation to provide training for youth and adults that enrich their lives by assisting them in setting the example for living a racially diverse and culturally inclusive life.
Gossett was 87.