Within the Nineteen Sixties, he additionally carried out as a folks singer in Greenwich Village coffeehouses. He and Richie Havens co-wrote the anti-war track “Good-looking Johnny,” which Havens recorded in 1966 and later sang at Woodstock.
His dozens of function movies embody “The Landlord” (1970), by which he performed a person on the point of madness; “Travelled with My Aunt” (1972); and “The Deep” (1977), as a Bahamian drug seller. His later movies included “Diggstown” (1992), by which he performed a boxer, and the movie model of Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Ravenous Class” (1994), by which he performed a bar proprietor.
Gossett has made greater than 100 tv appearances, from light-hearted comedies like “The Partridge Household” to dramas like “Madam Secretary.” He performed the title position, a Columbia anthropology professor who investigates crimes, within the short-lived 1989 collection “Gideon Oliver.”
He additionally appeared in a number of tv movies, together with “The Lazarus Syndrome” (1978), a few heart specialist; “A Gathering of Previous Males” (1987), a few black man who kills in self-defense; “Unusual Justice” (1999), about Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court docket affirmation course of (he performed presidential adviser Vernon Jordan); and “Lackawanna Blues” (2005), primarily based on the play by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. His different TV film roles included Egyptian chief Anwar Sadat and baseball star Satchel Paige.
He continued appearing till final yr, when he was seen within the movie model of the Broadway musical “The Coloration Purple.”
Mr. Gossett’s marriage to Hattie Glascoe in 1964 lasted simply 5 months. He and Christina Mangosing married in 1973, had a son, and divorced two years later. His 1987 marriage to Cyndi James Reese resulted in divorce in 1992.
Gossett is survived by his youngsters, Satie and Sharron Gossett, and several other grandchildren.
Within the Tv Academy interview, Mr. Gossett urged different actors to assist impact political and social change in a disruptive world. “The humanities can obtain this in a single day,” he stated. “Thousands and thousands of persons are watching.” He added: “We will attain them sooner than anybody else.”
Michael S. Rosenwald contributed experiences.
