Award-Winning Actor, Lou Gossett Jr, Passes Away at 87

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., the tough guy with a sensitive side best known for his celebrated work in the original Roots and award-winning film, An Officer and a Gentleman, has passed away at the age of 87. “It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning,” Gossett Jr.’s family said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. “We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.” The actor’s nephew told the AP that he died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California. No cause of death was given, but the actor announced in 2010 that he had prostate cancer. Gossett was the first black man to win an Oscar for best-supporting actor after putting naval aviation cadet Richard Gere through his paces in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); he was only the third black person to win any Oscar after Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind (1939) and Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field (1963). The role also brought him the first of two Golden Globes, the other being for The Josephine...