MAIN IMAGE: Louis Gossett Jr. and Ayuko Babu at the Pan African Film and Arts Festival in Los Angeles. Photo credit: The Pan African Film and Arts Festival.
We at Film And TV Now were saddened to learn of the recent death of Louis Gossett Jr.
Without question one of the greatest American actors of all time universally, his amazing legacy of work included many great movies that the 1970s and 1980s generations grew up with like myself. Of course, we remember him well for his Oscar-winning turn as Sgt. Emil Foley opposite Richard Gere in Taylor Hackford‘s AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982), but we remember fondly his appearances in the likes of ENEMY MINE, IRON EAGLE, THE DEEP and JAWS 3-D which, whilst not as successful as others in the series, was elevated thanks to Gossett’s scene-stealing turn as Sea World owner Calvin Brouchard.
Watch the trailer for AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN here:
The Pan African Film and Arts Festival have also paid tribute with the following statement from Ayuko Babu, the co-founder of the Pan African Film and Arts Festival:
“Brother Lou Gossett Jr. had a major influence on the Pan African Film Festival and a major influence on my life.
“So, a whole bunch of people hear about the Pan African Film Festival and don’t ever come. Don’t ever stop, don’t ever pay attention. Lou not only stopped and paid attention, he came down to see what was going on. Because he had that ability to see that we were doing something and had brought stories about Black people from around the whole planet. He got a chance to sit over there in Baldwin Hills and see the whole world. That’s how our relationship started and Brother Lou made a point to come to the Pan African Film Festival as often as he could.
“We honored him in 2006 with our Lifetime Achievement Award.
“He understood and he had an intuitive sense of what was significant culturally for Black folks and intellectually emotional for Black folks and where you could get knowledge and information and rejuvenate yourself.
“But Lou was beyond an actor. He was in the realm of a griot–a djeli–a West African storyteller. These are the people who come onto the planet every once in a while that carry through because they can tell our story–they know our story and they can make up, stop and look and listen at ourselves. And that takes a special spirit that’s connected to the universe–that’s connected to the past, the present, and the future and has the skill to tell the story–that’s a djeli. That’s a griot–somebody has that power in storytelling.
“Brother Lou was so good he brought you there, whatever the story was. You got into the story.
“Now I’m completely anti-white American military industrial complex. I’m on the other side with the revolutionaries. When you saw An Officer and a Gentleman–which he won the Academy Award for–Lou was so good playing the drill sergeant, he made you think about wanting to join his army. It was amazing. That’s the last thing I wanted to see was some film about a crazy drill sergeant, a crazy Black self hating man in the “Marine Corps.–but Lou took you there. He took you there to the point that you stopped and paid attention to the drill sergeant in the Marine Corp. and thought maybe you wanted to join the Marines. Because he had that ability. He was a griot.”
About the Pan African Film & Arts Festival:
The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) presents and showcases a broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help to destroy negative stereotypes of Africans and African-Americans.
Since 1992, as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, PAFF has remained dedicated to the promotion of Black stories and images through the exhibition of film, visual art, and other creative expression. Today, PAFF is one of the largest and most prestigious Black film festivals in the U.S. and attracts local, national, and international audiences. In addition, it is an Oscar-qualifying festival for animation and live-action films, and one of the largest Black History Month events in America.
PAFF is sponsored in part by the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, LA Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, LA Councilmember Curren Price, LA Councilmember Heather Hutt, LA County Department of Arts and Culture, the LA County COVID-19 Arts Relief Fund administered by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture, Senator Steve Bradford, and Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas.
The 32nd PAFF is possible through the generous support of sponsors including Gilead Sciences, Inc., Stocker Street Creative, Disney, Andscape, BET+, Paramount+National Geographic, Black Alliance for Justice Immigration, Cal State University, Los Angeles.
For more information, please visit
