Louis Gossett, Jr. to be honored by the International Press Academy.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu resident Lou Gossett has won an Emmy (for the TV miniseries “Roots”), a Golden Globe (for both “The Josephine Baker Story” and “An Officer and a Gentleman”) and an Oscar (for “An Officer and a Gentleman”).
Adding to the mantlepiece full of other awards, he is now being honored by the International Press Academy with the Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry, an accolade that, in the past, has gone to such luminaries as Kathy Bates, Martin Landau, Francis Ford Coppola, Rod Steiger and Susan Sarandon.
Although the rack awards are impressive, perhaps more so are his extensive contributions to humanitarian causes that Gossett said he wants to be remembered for most.
“You have to ask yourself everyday, what can you do in your personal life to change things for the better,” Gossett said of his philosophy in helping others.
Gossett walks the talk.
He is one of the county’s most visible supporters of the Boys and Girls Club of America. Last summer, he visited Kenya on a humanitarian trip for the organization Feed the Children. Last spring, he hosted a reality TV program based on rebuilding New Orleans. He was a featured speaker at former Secretary of Defense William Cohen’s conference on Race and Reconciliation in July. And he is the father of the Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating racism in society through education and antiviolence initiatives.
Mirjana Van Blaricom was formerly the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which sponsors the Golden Globe Awards every year. She left to form the IPA because she wanted a truly international press organization that included American as well as foreign correspondents.
“Lou’s acting career is extraordinary,” Van Blaricom said. “But what he’s done as a philanthropist and humanitarian is even greater. We need more like him in this world.”
Gossett takes his off-screen work quite seriously. He sees a looming crisis with the plight of inner city youth and believes that the solution to poverty-driven crime lies in shared responsibility.
“Guys like Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress (two high profile black football stars who have run into legal troubles of late), look where they came from,” Gossett said. “It’s a subculture that says you have to take things into your own hands, even if it means breaking the law. We have to show them there’s a different way. We have to clean up our own back yards.”
Gossett said he believes the media has been remiss in bringing a positive message to youth of today. He pointed out the paucity of appropriate black role models on the big screen.
“Look at ‘The Great Debaters,'” he argued. “A great movie, with a great message for all people, not just African Americans. And it got no distribution. But everybody saw ‘American Gangster.’ Hollywood has to make a commitment to making movies without all the negatives.”
Citing the nation’s Pledge of Allegiance, “One nation under God, indivisible…” Gossett is using his Eracism Foundation to encourage private industry to team with public organizations and reach across cultures for the benefit of all. In August, he gave a sermon at Ohev Sholom, the National Synagogue in Washington D.C.-the first black person to do so in the synagogue’s 122-year history. He said the Jewish faith provides a perfect template for uniting communities.
“All Jewish neighborhoods have community centers where everyone is welcome,” Gossett said. “It provides the kids with a place where they know they’ll be safe and where they belong. I’m working with the Eracism Foundation and companies like Nike to bring the same kind of community centers to low-income neighborhoods. We have a curriculum that’s about self respect, conflict resolution and presenting yourself in the very best light.”
Gossett believes that the presidential election of Barack Obama will encourage social diversification and opportunity. His Eracism Foundation is hosting an inaugural Purple Ball on Jan. 20 in Washington with a roster of A-list personalities to celebrate inclusion and bipartisanship.
“We’ve got to eliminate the ‘us versus them-ism,'” he said. “In a spirit of cooperation, we need to take better care of our planet and better care of our kids. I guess that’s what the Mary Pickford Award is about.”