Within the Nineteen Sixties, he additionally carried out as a folks singer in Greenwich Village espresso homes. He and Richie Havens co-wrote the antiwar tune “Good-looking Johnny,” which Mr. Havens recorded in 1966 and later sang at Woodstock.
His dozens of function movies included “The Landlord” (1970), through which he performed a person on the point of madness; “Travels With My Aunt” (1972); and “The Deep” (1977), as a Bahamian drug vendor. His later movies included “Diggstown” (1992), through which he performed a boxer, and the film model of Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Ravenous Class” (1994), through which he performed a bar proprietor.
Mr. Gossett made greater than 100 tv appearances, starting from lighthearted comedies like “The Partridge Household” to dramas like “Madam Secretary.” He performed the title position, a Columbia anthropology professor who investigates crimes, on the short-lived 1989 collection “Gideon Oliver.”
He additionally appeared in quite a few tv motion pictures, amongst them “The Lazarus Syndrome” (1978), a few heart specialist; “A Gathering of Outdated Males” (1987), a few Black man who kills in self-defense; “Unusual Justice” (1999), in regards to the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court docket affirmation course of (he performed the presidential adviser Vernon Jordan); and “Lackawanna Blues” (2005), primarily based on Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s play. His different TV-movie roles included the Egyptian chief Anwar Sadat and the baseball star Satchel Paige.
He continued to behave till final yr, when he was seen within the movie model of the Broadway musical “The Colour Purple.”
Mr. Gossett’s marriage to Hattie Glascoe in 1964 lasted solely 5 months. He and Christina Mangosing married in 1973, had one baby and divorced after two years. His 1987 marriage to Cyndi James Reese led to divorce in 1992.
Mr. Gossett is survived by his sons, Satie and Sharron Gossett, and several other grandchildren.
Within the Tv Academy interview, Mr. Gossett urged fellow actors to assist impact political and social change in a disturbing world. “The humanities can obtain it in a single day,” he stated. “Hundreds of thousands of persons are watching.” He added, “We are able to get to them faster than anyone else.”
Michael S. Rosenwald contributed reporting.
