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LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥斅�聽the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal聽聽has died. He was 87.

Gossett鈥檚 first cousin Neal L. Gossett told The Associated Press that the actor died in Santa Monica, California. A statement from the family said Gossett died Friday morning. No cause of death was revealed.

Gossett鈥檚 cousin remembered a man who walked with聽聽and who also was a great joke teller, a relative who faced and fought racism with dignity and humor.

鈥淣ever mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamor, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu. It鈥檚 about the humanity of the people that he stood for,鈥� his cousin said.

Louis Gossett always thought of his early career as a reverse Cinderella story, with success finding him from an early age and propelling him forward, toward his聽 for 鈥淎n Officer and a Gentleman.鈥� In August 1969, Gossett had been partying with members of the Mamas and the Papas when they were invited to聽聽He headed home first to shower and change clothes. As he was getting ready to leave, he caught a news flash on TV about Tate鈥檚 murder. She and others were killed by聽聽that night.

鈥淭here had to be a reason for my escaping this bullet,鈥� he wrote.

Louis Cameron Gossett was born on May 27, 1936, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York, to Louis Sr., a porter, and Hellen, a nurse. He later added Jr. to his name to honor his father.

Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries 鈥淩oots,鈥� which聽 on TV. The sprawling cast included Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton and John Amos.

Gossett became the third Black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983. He won for his performance as the intimidating Marine drill instructor in 鈥淎n Officer and a Gentleman鈥� opposite Richard Gere and Debra Winger. He also won a 聽for the same role.

鈥淢ore than anything, it was a huge affirmation of my position as a Black actor,鈥� he wrote in his 2010 memoir, 鈥淎n Actor and a Gentleman.鈥�

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He had earned his first acting credit in his Brooklyn high school鈥檚 production of 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Take It with You鈥� while he was sidelined from the basketball team with an injury.

鈥淚 was hooked 鈥� and so was my audience,鈥� he wrote in his memoir.

His English teacher urged him to go into Manhattan to try out for 鈥淭ake a Giant Step.鈥� He got the part and made his Broadway debut in 1953 at age 16.

鈥淚 knew too little to be nervous,鈥� Gossett wrote. 鈥淚n retrospect, I should have been scared to death as I walked onto that stage, but I wasn鈥檛.鈥�

Gossett attended New York University on a basketball and drama scholarship. He was soon acting and singing on TV shows hosted by David Susskind, Ed Sullivan, Red Buttons, Merv Griffin, Jack Paar and Steve Allen.

Gossett became friendly with James Dean and studied acting with Marilyn Monroe, Martin Landau and Steve McQueen at an offshoot of the Actors Studio taught by Frank Silvera.

In 1959, Gossett received critical acclaim for his role in the Broadway production of聽聽along with聽聽and Diana Sands.

He went on to become a star on Broadway, replacing Billy Daniels in 鈥淕olden Boy鈥� with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.

Gossett went to Hollywood for the first time in 1961 to make the film version of 鈥淎 Raisin in the Sun.鈥� He had bitter memories of that trip, staying in a cockroach-infested motel that was one of the few places to allow Black people.

In 1968, he returned to Hollywood for a major role in 鈥淐ompanions in Nightmare,鈥� NBC鈥檚 first made-for-TV movie that starred Melvyn Douglas, Anne Baxter and Patrick O鈥橬eal.

This time, Gossett was booked into the Beverly Hills Hotel and Universal Studios had rented him a convertible. Driving back to the hotel after picking up the car, he was stopped by a Los Angeles County sheriff鈥檚 officer who ordered him to turn down the radio and put up the car鈥檚 roof before letting him go.

Within minutes, he was stopped by eight sheriff鈥檚 officers, who had him lean against the car and made him open the trunk while they called the car rental agency before letting him go.

鈥淭hough I understood that I had no choice but to put up with this abuse, it was a terrible way to be treated, a humiliating way to feel,鈥� Gossett wrote in his memoir. 鈥淚 realized this was happening because I was Black and had been showing off with a fancy car 鈥� which, in their view, I had no right to be driving.鈥�

After dinner at the hotel, he went for a walk and was stopped a block away by a police officer, who told him he broke a law prohibiting walking around residential Beverly Hills after 9 p.m. Two other officers arrived and Gossett said he was chained to a tree and handcuffed for three hours. He was eventually freed when the original police car returned.

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鈥淣ow I had come face-to-face with racism, and it was an ugly sight,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淏ut it was not going to destroy me.鈥�

In the late 1990s, Gossett said he was pulled over by police on the Pacific Coast Highway while driving his restored 1986 Rolls Royce Corniche II. The officer told him he looked like someone they were searching for, but the officer recognized Gossett and left.

He founded the Eracism Foundation to help create a world where racism doesn鈥檛 exist.

Gossett made a series of guest appearances on such shows as 鈥淏onanza,鈥� 鈥淭he Rockford Files,鈥� 鈥淭he Mod Squad,鈥� 鈥淢cCloud鈥� and a memorable turn with聽聽on 鈥淭he Partridge Family.鈥�

鈥淭he Oscar gave me the ability of being able to choose good parts in movies like 鈥楨nemy Mine,鈥� 鈥楽adat鈥� and 鈥業ron Eagle,鈥欌�� Gossett said in Dave Karger鈥檚 2024 book 鈥�50 Oscar Nights.鈥�

He said his statue was in storage.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to donate it to a library so I don鈥檛 have to keep an eye on it,鈥� he said in the book. 鈥淚 need to be free of it.鈥�

Gossett appeared in such TV movies as 鈥淭he Story of Satchel Paige,鈥� 鈥淏ackstairs at the White House, 鈥淭he Josephine Baker Story,鈥� for which he won another Golden Globe, and 鈥淩oots Revisited.鈥�

But he said winning an Oscar didn鈥檛 change the fact that all his roles were supporting ones.

He played an obstinate patriarch in the聽

Gossett struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction for years after his Oscar win. He went to rehab, where he was diagnosed with toxic mold syndrome, which he attributed to his house in Malibu.

In 2010, Gossett announced he had prostate cancer, which he said was caught in the early stages. In 2020, he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

He also is survived by sons Satie, a producer-director from his second marriage, and Sharron, a chef whom he adopted after seeing the 7-year-old in a TV segment on children in desperate situations. His first cousin is聽

Gossett鈥檚 first marriage to Hattie Glascoe was annulled. His second, to Christina Mangosing, ended in divorce in 1975 as did his third to actor Cyndi James-Reese in 1992.

Associated Press journalists Mark Kennedy in New York and Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed reporting.