Actor
· Acting
Louis Gossett Jr.
Born 1936-05-27
Died 2024-03-29
📍 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Louis Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" and as Fiddler in the television miniseries "Roots". He won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards in an acting career that spanned over five decades.
Filmography 204
Sin
as Elijah
2025
IF
as Lewis (voice)
2024
The Color Purple
as Ol' Mister
2023
Outlaw Johnny Black
as Reverend Tharrington (voice) (uncredited)
2023
Sidney
as Self
2022
Three Months
as Benny
2022
Not to Forget
as Pastor John
2021
I Forgive
as God (voice)
2021
The Reason
as Pastor Jim
2020
The Cuban
as Luis Garcia
2020
Miracle in East Texas
as Irving Tanner Jr.
2020
Watchmen
as Old Man / Will Reeves
2019
Foster Boy
as Judge George Taylor
2019
Supervized
as Pendle
2019
Hal
as Self
2019
Breaking Brooklyn
as Miles Bryant
2018
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
as Self
2017
Undercover Grandpa
as Mother
2017
The Good Fight
as Carl Reddick
2017
Double Play
as Coco
2017
King of the Dancehall
as The Bishop
2017
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
as Self
2016
A.C. Green: Iron Virgin
as Himself
2016
Boiling Pot
as Detective Haven
2015
The Spoils Before Dying
as Duke Webster
2015
The Book of Negroes
as Daddy Moses
2015
Madam Secretary
as Laurent Vasseur
2014
Extant
as Quinn
2014
The Dependables
as Lou Jones
2014
A Fighting Man
as Cubby
2014
Miracle at Gate 213
as Roy Peddington
2013
Breaking at the Edge
as Floyd
2013
Smitty
as Mr. Smith
2012
The Undershepherd
as Bishop Redford
2012
Dog Jack
as Grown up Jed
2011
The Grace Card
as George Wright
2011
Hawaii Five-0
as Lou's father
2010
Why Did I Get Married Too?
as Porter
2010
The Perfect Game
as Cool Papa Bell
2009
Celebrity Ghost Stories
as Self
2009
Amazing Racer
as Max Donovan
2009
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
as Self
2009
Delgo
as King Zahn (voice)
2008
A Love Story of Today
as Self
2008
A Special Kind of Love
as Self
2008
The Black List: Volume One
as Self
2008
Stories USA
as Doc (segment "Club Soda")
2007
Cover
as Detective Hicks
2007
Daddy's Little Girls
as Willie
2007
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
as Self
2007
Club Soda
as Doc
2006
Psych
as Lloyd Marr
2006
Solar Attack
as President Ryan Gordon
2006
All In
as Caps
2006
Left Behind: World at War
as President Geral Fitzhugh
2005
Black in the 80s
2005
Lackawanna Blues
as Ol'lem Taylor
2005
The Batman
as Lucius Fox (voice)
2004
Jasper, Texas
as R.C. Horn
2003
Momentum
as Raymond Addison
2003
Half & Half
as Ray Willis
2002
The Dead Zone
as Pastor David Lewis
2002
What About Your Friends: Weekend Get-Away
as Dr. Barnes
2002
Deceived
as Col. David Garrett
2002
For Love of Olivia
as Daniel Stewart
2001
Dr. Lucille
2001
The Color of Love: Jacey's Story
as Lou Hastings
2000
The Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence
as Frank
2000
The Highwayman
as Phil Bishop
2000
Strange Justice
as Vernon Jordan
1999
Y2K
as Morgan
1999
Love Songs
as Reuben
1999
Family Guy
as Drill Sargent (voice)
1999
The Inspectors
as Inspector Frank Hughes
1998
Hercules
as Chiron (voice)
1998
The Wall That Heals
as Self - Host
1998
Legend of the Mummy
as Corbeck
1998
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
as Self
1998
Stargate SG-1
as Gerak
1997
In His Father's Shoes
as Frank Crosby / Richard
1997
To Dance with Olivia
as Daniel Stewart
1997
Early Edition
as Jim Matthews
1996
Promised Land
as Anderson Walker
1996
Inside
as Questioner
1996
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
as James Mink
1996
Managua
as Paul
1996
Iron Eagle on the Attack
as Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
1995
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
as Self
1995
Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder
as Ray Alexander
1995
Zooman
as Rueben Tate
1995
A Father for Charlie
as Walter Osgood
1995
Touched by an Angel
as Anderson Walker
1994
ER
as Leo Malcolm
1994
Flashfire
as Ben Durand
1994
Curse of the Starving Class
as Ellis
1994
A Good Man in Africa
as Prof. Sam Adekunle
1994
Ray Alexander: A Taste For Justice
as Ray Alexander
1994
Ellen
as Sgt. Timko
1994
Blue Chips
as Father Dawkins (uncredited)
1994
Return to Lonesome Dove
as Isom Pickett
1993
Monolith
as Capt. MacCandless
1993
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
as Leonard Clay
1993
Picket Fences
as Rick Jennings
1992
Diggstown
as "Honey" Roy Palmer
1992
Iron Eagle III
as Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
1992
Keeper of the City
as Det. James Dela
1991
Carolina Skeletons
as James Bragg
1991
Toy Soldiers
as Dean Parker
1991
The Josephine Baker Story
as Sidney Williams
1991
Cover-Up
as Lou Jackson
1991
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
as Commander Clash (voice)
1990
Sudie and Simpson
as Simpson
1990
El Diablo
as Van Leek
1990
Zora is My Name!
1990
The Punisher
as Jake Berkowitz
1989
Roots: The Gift
as Fiddler
1988
Goodbye, Miss 4th of July
as Big John Creed
1988
Iron Eagle II
as Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
1988
American Experience
as Narrator (voice)
1988
Sam Found Out: A Triple Play
as Sam
1988
The Father Clements Story
1987
The Principal
as Jake Phillips
1987
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
as Self
1987
A Gathering of Old Men
as Mathu
1987
Firewalker
as Leo Porter
1986
Iron Eagle
as Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
1986
Enemy Mine
as Jeriba 'Jerry' Shigan
1985
The Guardian
as John Mack
1984
Finders Keepers
as Century
1984
Jaws 3-D
as Calvin Bouchard
1983
The Making of Jaws 3-D: Sharks Don't Die
as narrator
1983
The Powers of Matthew Star
as Walter "Walt" Shepherd (D'Hai)
1982
An Officer and a Gentleman
as Sergeant Emil Foley
1982
Benny's Place
as Benny Moore
1982
I Love Liberty
as Self
1982
Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige
as Leroy 'Satchel' Paige
1981
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
as Leo Garcia
1980
Palmerstown, U.S.A.
1980
The Lazarus Syndrome
as Dr. MacArthur St. Clair
1979
The Lazarus Syndrome
as MacArthur St. Clair
1979
Lawman Without a Gun
as Tom Hayward
1979
Backstairs at the White House
as Levi Mercer, Houseman
1979
The Critical List
as Lem Harper
1978
To Kill a Cop
as Everett Walker
1978
To Kill a Cop
as Everett Walker
1978
Freeman
as Rex
1977
The Choirboys
as Calvin Motts
1977
The Deep
as Henri Cloche
1977
Roots
as Fiddler
1977
Little Ladies of the Night
as Russ Garfield
1977
J.D.'s Revenge
as Rev. Elija Bliss
1976
The River Niger
as Dr. Dudley Stanton
1976
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
1975
Delancey Street: The Crisis Within
as Otis James
1975
The Jeffersons
1975
Black Bart
as Black Bart
1975
The Rockford Files
as Marcus Aurelius Hayes / O'Brien
1974
The Rockford Files
as Marcus Aurelius 'Gabby' Hayes
1974
Harry O
as Cleon Jackson
1974
Little House on the Prairie
as Henry Hill
1974
Petrocelli
as District Attorney Kurt Olson
1974
Petrocelli
as Kurt Olson, DA
1974
The White Dawn
as Portagee
1974
Sidekicks
as Jason O'Rourke
1974
It's Good to Be Alive
as Sam Brockington
1974
Good Times
1974
The Six Million Dollar Man
as O'Flaherty
1974
The Laughing Policeman
as Insp. James Larrimore SFPD
1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
as Self
1973
Police Story
1973
Travels with My Aunt
as Wordsworth
1972
The Rookies
1972
Skin Game
as Jason O'Rourke
1971
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
as Lt. Carl Fellows
1971
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Partridge Family
as Sam Simon
1970
The Young Rebels
1970
The Landlord
as Copee Johnson
1970
McCloud
1970
Love, American Style
as Freddy
1969
The Bill Cosby Show
as Hurricane Smith
1969
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
as Dr. Karnes
1969
The Bushbaby
as Tembo
1969
Companions in Nightmare
as Lt. Adam McKay
1968
The Mod Squad
as Smitty
1968
The Mod Squad
as Charley Jameson
1968
The Mod Squad
as Lloyd
1968
Cowboy in Africa
as Joseph Hemera
1967
Cowboy in Africa
as Fulah
1967
The Invaders
as Ollie
1967
Daktari
as Mkono
1966
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
A Raisin in the Sun
as George Murchison
1961
Bonanza
as Buck Walter
1959
The Oscars
as Self
1953
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Audience Member
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Host
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter
1944
Unplugged
as Amos Burton (voice)