Louis Gossett Jr.
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 · 197
Family Guy
1999 · Drill Sargent (voice)
Hawaii Five-0
2010 · Lou's father
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
Stargate SG-1
1997 · Gerak
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Host
Psych
2006 · Lloyd Marr
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self
ER
1994 · Leo Malcolm
Little House on the Prairie
1974 · Henry Hill
Bonanza
1959 · Buck Walter
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · Self - Nominee
Madam Secretary
2014 · Laurent Vasseur
American Experience
1988 · Narrator (voice)
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Good Fight
2017 · Carl Reddick
Love, American Style
1969 · Freddy
American Playhouse
1982
The Rockford Files
1974 · Marcus Aurelius Hayes...
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974 · O'Flaherty
Touched by an Angel
1994 · Anderson Walker
The Batman
2004 · Lucius Fox (voice)
The Dead Zone
2002 · Pastor David Lewis
Ellen
1994 · Sgt. Timko
Early Edition
1996 · Jim Matthews
Hercules
1998 · Chiron (voice)
The Invaders
1967 · Ollie
The Partridge Family
1970 · Sam Simon
The Oscars
1953 · Self
The Rookies
1972
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
1990 · Commander Clash (voice...
Celebrity Ghost Stories
2009 · Self
McCloud
1970
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
Watchmen
2019 · Old Man / Will Reeves
IF
2024 · Lewis (voice)
Picket Fences
1992 · Rick Jennings
The Jeffersons
1975
Extant
2014 · Quinn
Good Times
1974
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Police Story
1973
Half & Half
2002 · Ray Willis
Roots
1977 · Fiddler
The Punisher
1989 · Jake Berkowitz
Petrocelli
1974 · Kurt Olson, DA
The Mod Squad
1968 · Smitty
Harry O
1974 · Cleon Jackson
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971 · Lt. Carl Fellows
Promised Land
1996 · Anderson Walker
Daktari
1966 · Mkono
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
1969 · Dr. Karnes
The Bill Cosby Show
1969 · Hurricane Smith
Jaws 3-D
1983 · Calvin Bouchard
The Color Purple
2023 · Ol' Mister
An Officer and a Gentleman
1982 · Sergeant Emil Foley
Enemy Mine
1985 · Jeriba 'Jerry' Shigan
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973 · Self
The Spoils Before Dying
2015 · Duke Webster
Iron Eagle
1986 · Charles 'Chappy' Sincl...
The Principal
1987 · Jake Phillips
Sidney
2022 · Self
The Deep
1977 · Henri Cloche
Return to Lonesome Dove
1993 · Isom Pickett
Toy Soldiers
1991 · Dean Parker
Unplugged
— · Amos Burton (voice)
The Powers of Matthew Star
1982 · Walter "Walt" Shepherd...
Firewalker
1986 · Leo Porter
The Book of Negroes
2015 · Daddy Moses
Backstairs at the White House
1979 · Levi Mercer, Houseman
The Perfect Game
2009 · Cool Papa Bell
The Young Rebels
1970
Why Did I Get Married Too?
2010 · Porter
Palmerstown, U.S.A.
1980
Daddy's Little Girls
2007 · Willie
Iron Eagle II
1988 · Charles 'Chappy' Sincl...
Blue Chips
1994 · Father Dawkins (uncred...
Iron Eagle III
1992 · Charles 'Chappy' Sincl...
Y2K
1999 · Morgan
Cowboy in Africa
1967 · Fulah
Cover-Up
1991 · Lou Jackson
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007 · Self
Diggstown
1992 · "Honey" Roy Palmer
Sin
2025 · Elijah
Zooman
1995 · Rueben Tate
A Raisin in the Sun
1961 · George Murchison
Undercover Grandpa
2017 · Mother
Amazing Racer
2009 · Max Donovan
Black in the 80s
2005
Iron Eagle on the Attack
1995 · Charles 'Chappy' Sincl...
Supervized
2019 · Pendle
Solar Attack
2006 · President Ryan Gordon
A Fighting Man
2014 · Cubby
Stories USA
2007 · Doc (segment "Club Sod...
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987 · Self
To Kill a Cop
1978 · Everett Walker
I Forgive
2021 · God (voice)
The Laughing Policeman
1973 · Insp. James Larrimore...
El Diablo
1990 · Van Leek
Delgo
2008 · King Zahn (voice)
Dog Jack
2011 · Grown up Jed
The Undershepherd
2012 · Bishop Redford
Skin Game
1971 · Jason O'Rourke
The Critical List
1978 · Lem Harper
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
1996 · James Mink
The Reason
2020 · Pastor Jim
Finders Keepers
1984 · Century
The Landlord
1970 · Copee Johnson
The Choirboys
1977 · Calvin Motts
Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige
1981 · Leroy 'Satchel' Paige
A Good Man in Africa
1994 · Prof. Sam Adekunle
Foster Boy
2019 · Judge George Taylor
Love Songs
1999 · Reuben
Left Behind: World at War
2005 · President Geral Fitzhu...
Cover
2007 · Detective Hicks
Outlaw Johnny Black
2023 · Reverend Tharrington (...
The Grace Card
2011 · George Wright
Lackawanna Blues
2005 · Ol'lem Taylor
The Cuban
2020 · Luis Garcia
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995 · Self
I Love Liberty
1982 · Self
Three Months
2022 · Benny
The White Dawn
1974 · Portagee
The Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence
2000 · Frank
Ray Alexander: A Taste For Justice
1994 · Ray Alexander
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
1993 · Leonard Clay
Sidekicks
1974 · Jason O'Rourke
Managua
1996 · Paul
Smitty
2012 · Mr. Smith
Travels with My Aunt
1972 · Wordsworth
King of the Dancehall
2017 · The Bishop
Breaking at the Edge
2013 · Floyd
Delancey Street: The Crisis Within
1975 · Otis James
All In
2006 · Caps
The Josephine Baker Story
1991 · Sidney Williams
The Inspectors
1998 · Inspector Frank Hughes
Roots: The Gift
1988 · Fiddler
Momentum
2003 · Raymond Addison
Jasper, Texas
2003 · R.C. Horn
Club Soda
2006 · Doc
Breaking Brooklyn
2018 · Miles Bryant
The Dependables
2014 · Lou Jones
The River Niger
1976 · Dr. Dudley Stanton
Freeman
1977 · Rex
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
2009 · Self
J.D.'s Revenge
1976 · Rev. Elija Bliss
It's Good to Be Alive
1974 · Sam Brockington
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
2016 · Self
Carolina Skeletons
1991 · James Bragg
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
1980 · Leo Garcia
Curse of the Starving Class
1994 · Ellis
Hal
2019 · Self
A Gathering of Old Men
1987 · Mathu
Inside
1996 · Questioner
Monolith
1993 · Capt. MacCandless
Legend of the Mummy
1998 · Corbeck
Gridiron Gang
1992 · Host
Black Bart
1975 · Black Bart
Little Ladies of the Night
1977 · Russ Garfield
Flashfire
1994 · Ben Durand
The Guardian
1984 · John Mack
Strange Justice
1999 · Vernon Jordan
Not to Forget
2021 · Pastor John
The Lazarus Syndrome
1979 · MacArthur St. Clair
Double Play
2017 · Coco
The Father Clements Story
1987
Deceived
2002 · Col. David Garrett
A.C. Green: Iron Virgin
2016 · Himself
The Black List: Volume One
2008 · Self
Zora is My Name!
1990
To Dance with Olivia
1997 · Daniel Stewart
To Kill a Cop
1978 · Everett Walker
The Highwayman
2000 · Phil Bishop
The Color of Love: Jacey's Story
2000 · Lou Hastings
Boiling Pot
2015 · Detective Haven
Miracle in East Texas
2020 · Irving Tanner Jr.
Companions in Nightmare
1968 · Lt. Adam McKay
Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder
1995 · Ray Alexander
In His Father's Shoes
1997 · Frank Crosby / Richard
Dr. Lucille
2001
The Lazarus Syndrome
1979 · Dr. MacArthur St. Clai...
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
1998 · Self
Keeper of the City
1991 · Det. James Dela
The Bushbaby
1969 · Tembo
A Father for Charlie
1995 · Walter Osgood
Miracle at Gate 213
2013 · Roy Peddington
The Making of Jaws 3-D: Sharks Don't Die
1983 · narrator
The Wall That Heals
1998 · Self - Host
Lawman Without a Gun
1979 · Tom Hayward
What About Your Friends: Weekend Get-Away
2002 · Dr. Barnes
Benny's Place
1982 · Benny Moore
Goodbye, Miss 4th of July
1988 · Big John Creed
A Special Kind of Love
2008 · Self
For Love of Olivia
2001 · Daniel Stewart
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
2017 · Self
A Love Story of Today
2008 · Self
Sudie and Simpson
1990 · Simpson
Sam Found Out: A Triple Play
1988 · Sam