He is being celebrated across the web for being the first black man to win a Best Supporting Actor award, but Louis Gossett, Jr. had a profound impact on science fiction and fantasy movie and TV fandom.
Associated Press: Louis Gossett, Jr. dies at 87
He appeared in 7 episodes of the
Watchmen TV series, but he also played the Jaffa Master-turned-Prior Gerak in
Stargate SG-1 and he starred as the alien Drac in
Enemy, Mine, which in 1985 was considered a ground-breaking SciFi movie.
He was best known to audiences in the 1980s as Sergeant Emil Foley in
An Officer and A Gentleman. I can't do justice to his full career. I saw him in many shows and movies. But I always enjoyed his science fiction performances (and he was an active voice actor, too).
His talent will be missed.