Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Louis Gossett Jr., Legendary Actor, Author & Humanitarian
About Harvey's guest:
Today’s special guest, Louis Gossett Jr., is one of our most beloved and respected actors, who’s been thrilling audiences with his iconic performances since he first conquered Broadway at the age of 17 in “Take a Giant Step”, followed by “The Desk Set”, “Golden Boy”, “The Zulu and the Zayda”, and “My Sweet Charlie”.
He also starred on Broadway in “A Raisin in the Sun”, and then made his film debut in the 1961 movie adaptation of the play. His unforgettable portrayal of “Fiddler” in the groundbreaking miniseries “Roots” earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding lead actor. And of course, who can ever forget him as Sgt. Emil Foley in “An Officer and a Gentleman”, for which he won the 1983 Academy Award AND Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Black actor to win in that category.
Besides his Emmy Award for Roots, he got 7 more Emmy Award nominations for his work in “The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots”, “Backstairs at the White House”, “Palmerstown, USA”, “A Gathering of Old Men”, “Touched By an Angel”, “Watchmen” and “Sadat”, for which he was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award. And he got another Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in “The Josephine Baker Story”.
He's had 3 Daytime Emmy Award nominations, and won the award for Best Children’s Special, for “In His Father’s Shoes”. He’s been nominated 6 times for NAACP Image Awards and won twice. And in 1992, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Very soon, we will all get to see him in his latest role, as “Mister” in the musical film version of “The Color Purple”.
In addition to his illustrious acting career, our guest is an accomplished writer, producer, director and musician – and perhaps most importantly, he’s a social activist, educator and humanitarian, dedicated to eliminating racism and fighting injustice wherever it exists, in all its forms.
In 2010 he released his riveting memoir entitled "An Actor and a Gentleman," chronicling not only the many triumphs of his monumental career, but also the heartbreaking and sometimes insurmountable obstacles he confronted and overcame as a working actor, and especially as a Black man in America.
In 2006, he founded The Eracism Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating racism, fostering cultural diversity, historical enrichment, education and anti-violence initiatives.
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