When Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959, I was too young, too far away, and too poor to see it. When I reached my teens, I saw the movie version and was enthralled. The movie starred Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, and Claudia McNeil as the vulnerable but strong family matriarch, Lena Younger. I identified with Diana Sands' character, Beneatha, because she was young, idealistic, and searching like many kids—my age for an identity. Attached to Beneatha were two men vying for her attention. One is a Nigerian exchange student portrayed by Ivan Dixon (of Hogan Heroes fame), and the other is an erudite college student and son of a rich black business owner. The young ne’er do well suitor was George Murchison, portrayed by Lou Gossett Jr., who reprised his role from the 1956 stage play.
Mr. Gossett had a long and distinguished career, but for much of America, especially black America, he forever endeared himself as the character Fiddler in the 1977 historical drama Roots. For eight consecutive nights, my family and friends watched Roots, crying, laughing, but most of all, in awe of where and how far we had come. We felt the pain of Kunta Kinte, the defiant slave beaten into temporary submission, not because of the graphic depiction of his beating but because of the heart-wrenching winces and anguish on the face of his friend Fiddler. Gossett drew us all in and added an element of humanity to the times and characters missing from any dramas about slavery in America.
For years following, whenever Gossett would appear on screen, people would murmur, “That’s Fiddler.” Lou Gossett created iconic moments on screen as a tribute to his talent. The community remembers him stepping into the patriarchal role of Uncle Wilbert after the out-of-town departure of John Amos on the TV comedy Good Times as the brother of the lead character Esther Rolle. He also portrayed the much older and controversial boyfriend, Donald Knight, to the young and vivacious Bern Nadette “Thelma” Stanis. To mainstream audiences, Mr. Gossett was the hard-driving gunnery sergeant Emil Foley to recruit Richard Gere in the acclaimed film An Officer and a Gentleman, making him the first black man to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Gossett’s almost brush with fate happened when he was delayed in attending a party thrown by Sharon Tate at her home, whom he found out in news reports was killed by the Manson family. Mr. Gossett brought strength, sympathy, laughter, and empathic pathos to every character he portrayed. Illness, substance abuse, and old age slowed down Mr. Gossett, but true to form, he kept working, as evidenced by his appearance in the remake of The Color Purple, released this year. Gossett expressed some reservations when he was first approached for the role of Fiddler; he wanted to make sure the character was filled with quiet strength and not a shuffling servant. Mr. Gossett always seemed wise beyond his years and certain in a world of uncertainty. For a young black man, those portrayals were few and far between. Thank you, Louis Cameron Gossett Jr., You made me feel as if I could.
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. May 27, 1936- March 29, 2024
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