Louis Gossett, Jr.

Louis Gossett Jr. (born May 27 1936) is an American actor.

Related Topics:
May 27 - 1936 - American - Actor

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He was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn in 1936 and attended Abraham Lincoln High School where he was class president and an academic as well as athletic achiever.

Related Topics:
Coney Island - Brooklyn - Abraham Lincoln High School

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A sports injury left him with no choice but to take an acting class, and at 16 he made his stage debut in the school's production of You Can't Take It With You.

Related Topics:
Sports - You Can't Take It With You

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After school, he attended New York University, where he became a star basketball player and was chosen to play for the New York Knicks. However, his true vocation was acting and he took a big step into the world of cinema in the Sidney Poitier vehicle A Raisin in the Sun.

Related Topics:
New York University - New York Knicks - Sidney Poitier - A Raisin in the Sun

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Since then he has gone on to star in numerous film productions such as The Deep, Jaws 3-D (as Sea World manager Calvin Bouchard), Enemy Mine, Iron Eagle, Toy Soldiers and The Punisher to name but a few and TV. He is also the voice of the Vortigaunts in Half-Life 2. His role in Enemy Mine resulted in a first: he became the first actor (as opposed to "actress") to be shown giving birth on screen, when he played an alien of a one-gendered species.

Related Topics:
The Deep - Jaws 3-D - Enemy Mine - Iron Eagle - Toy Soldiers - The Punisher - Half-Life 2

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It was his role as Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman (playing opposite Richard Gere) which showcased his enormous talent and garnered him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Related Topics:
Sergeant - 1982 - An Officer and a Gentleman - Richard Gere - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

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