Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, he made his stage debut at the age of 17.[2] Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway play Take a Giant Step. Gossett continued acting onstage in critically acclaimed plays including A Raisin in the Sun (1959), The Blacks (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963), and The Zulu and the Zayda (1965). In 1977, Gossett appeared in the popular miniseries Roots, for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.