Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. was born on 27 May 1936, in Brooklyn, New York City USA, of Sierra Leonean and Liberian ancestry. Lou is an actor, perhaps still best known for being a part of the 1982 film “An Officer and a Gentleman” which won him an Academy Award, but all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Lou Gossett Jr.? As of late-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $1.5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in acting. He also won an Emmy Award for his work in the miniseries “Roots”, and other projects he’s done include “A Raisin in the Sun”, “Toy Soldiers”, and “The Punisher”. All of these achievements have helped ensure the position of his wealth.
Louis Gossett Jr. Net Worth $1.5 million
Gossett attended Abraham Lincoln High School and had his first acting opportunity there, becoming part of a school production entitled “You Can’t Take it with You”, after which, and partly because of a sports injury, he decided to fully pursue acting. After matriculating in 1954, he attended New York University, declining a sports scholarship to focus on acting. Eventually he would have a successful audition for Broadway’s “Take a Giant Step”.
In 1959, he was cast in the production of “A Raisin in the Sun” which led to a film adaptation. This started his film career and he would later appear in “The Blacks” which became the longest running off-Broadway play of the decade. In 1965, he would be cast in the musical “Zulu and the Sazya”, but the following year he branched out and wrote the song “Handsome Johnny”, which Richie Havens would eventually record. His net worth was well established.
In 1977, Lou became a part of the miniseries “Roots”, which started to boost his popularity and further his net worth. The role won him an Emmy Award and he was then given the title role in the miniseries “Sadat”. He continued his career by being part of the series “The Powers of Matthew Star”, and in the film “An Officer and a Gentleman”, which would win him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first African American to do so. Thanks to the success of the film, his net worth would continue to increase with more opportunities being given to him.
Gossett also does a lot of voice acting work, being part of the video game “Half-Life 2” as Vortigaunts, and also voiced Lucius Fox in “The Batman” animated show.
In 2005, Lou starred in “Left Behind: World at War” and four years later would use his voice talents in “The Word of Promise” production. One of his latest works is the drama “Boiling Pot” which proved to be controversial as it tackled racism in college campuses across the country during the 2008 presidential election.
For his personal life, it is known that Gossett has been married three times, firstly to Hattie Glascoe 1967 but it was annulled a year later. His second marriage was to Christina Mangosing in 1973 and they had a son but then divorced in 1975 His third marriage was to Cyndi James-Reese in 1987 – they adopted a son, but would divorce in 1992. In 2010, Lou announced that he was battling through prostate cancer, and had managed to catch the disease early; he was able to make a full recovery.
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