‘Roots’ Co-Star LeVar Burton & ‘An Officer And A Gentleman’ Director Taylor Hackford Pay Tribute To Louis Gossett Jr. As Hollywood Remembers Late Actor
deadline.comOn the passing yesterday of actor Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and A Gentleman director Taylor Hackford and Roots co-star LeVar Burton remembered their late colleague and friend. “One of the best to ever do it!,” Burton posted on X/Twitter. “Thank you, Lou… for everything!” In a statement to Deadline, Hackford said: “The role of Master Sargent Foley in An Officer and A Gentlemen was written as a white man.
When I visited the Navy Officers Flight Training Center in Pensacola, FLA, I discovered that many of the Drill Instructors there were men of color.
I found it interesting that Black & Brown enlisted men had ‘make-or-break’ control over whether white college graduates would become officers and fighter pilots. “At that moment I changed the casting profile for Sergeant Foley and started meeting actors of color.
Lou Gossett came to see me – I knew and admired his stage work. He told me that he’d served in the US Army as a Ranger, so in addition to being an accomplished actor, he knew military life – I hired him on the spot. “Lou Gossett’s Sergeant Foley may have been the first Black character in American cinema to have absolute authority over white characters.
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