Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr has passed away on Friday. He was 87.

In his over six-decade career, Gossett Jr appeared in films such as Iron Eagle and The Laughing Policeman. Famously, he became the first actor of colour to win the Academy for Best Supporting Actor in the movie An Officer and A Gentleman, directed by Taylor Hackford, for the role of Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley.

The actor also bagged a Primetime Emmy Award for the movie Roots.

While the exact reason for his death in not yet known, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010. His family sought privacy at this time issuing a statement.

Louis Gossett Jr has finished shooting for the remake of The Color Purple. Besides, he has films IF, Soul to Keep, Sin, and Unplugged in several stages of production.

Apart from acting in movies, he was also the part of Watchmen TV show, by which he is known to the current generation.