Louis Gossett Jr. Dies at 87 - How to Stream His Hits Like ‘Roots’ and ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’
Few actors could hold your attention like Louis Gossett Jr. He exploded to fame in the landmark 1977 miniseries “Roots” as Fiddler, a slave who helps teach Kunta Kinte. Gossett’s pinnacle came just five years later, when he became the first Black actor to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” More recently, he played a pivotal role in the 2019 HBO “Watchmen” series.
If you’d like to relive the greatest roles of this outstanding actor, we’ve compiled some of his best works and where to stream them.
The Best of Louis Gossett Jr.
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Roots
January 23, 1977The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley’s ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia, West Africa and concludes during post-Civil War United States, over 100 years later. This 1977 miniseries eventually won 9 Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, and a Peabody award, and still stands as the most watched miniseries in U.S. history.
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Backstairs at the White House
January 29, 1979Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.
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Palmerstown, U.S.A.
March 20, 1980Palmerstown, U.S.A. is a drama series. It centers on the lives of two 9-year-old best friends, one black and one white, growing up in a small Southern town during the 1930s.
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An Officer and a Gentleman
July 28, 1982Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer’s course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren’t so self-involved. Zack’s affair with a working girl is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself.
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Enemy Mine
December 12, 1985A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
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Iron Eagle
January 17, 1986When Doug’s father, an Air Force Pilot, is shot down by MiGs belonging to a radical Middle Eastern state, no one seems able to get him out. Doug finds Chappy, an Air Force Colonel who is intrigued by the idea of sending in two fighters piloted by himself and Doug to rescue Doug’s father after bombing the MiG base.
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A Gathering of Old Men
May 10, 1987A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer is shot in self defense. A group of old, black men takes a courageous step by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing of a white racist, whom one of their members has shot. As the sheriff confronts the suspects, the young plantation owner stands alone in her daring defense of this group of men, provoking racial tension that makes a compelling drama.
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Toy Soldiers
April 24, 1991After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader’s vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.
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Diggstown
August 14, 1992Gabriel Caine has just been released from prison when he sets up a bet with a business man. The business man owns most of a boxing-mad town called Diggstown. The bet is that Gabe can find a boxer that will knock out 10 Diggstown men, in a boxing ring, within 24 hours. “Honey” Roy Palmer is that man - although at 48, many say he is too old.
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Boardwalk Empire
September 19, 2010Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don’t apply. And the man who runs things — legally and otherwise — is the town’s treasurer, Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, who is equal parts politician and gangster.
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Watchmen
October 20, 2019Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.
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The Color Purple
December 25, 2023A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
