The world is reacting to the loss of one of its most legendary actors and the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Louis Gossett Jr. He was 87.

According to The Associated Press, Gossett died in Santa Monica, California, in the morning hours of March 29. His cause of death has not been revealed.

Gossett began his acting career in high school in the Brooklyn production of "You Can't Take It with You" after suffering from an injury while on his school's basketball team. The then 16-year-old's English teacher convinced him to audition for “Take a Giant Step” in Manhattan, and he got the role, making his Broadway debut in 1953.

In his 2010 memoir, "An Actor and a Gentleman," he wrote, “I was hooked — and so was my audience. ... I knew too little to be nervous. In retrospect, I should have been scared to death as I walked onto that stage, but I wasn’t.”

Gossett went on to attend New York University with basketball and drama scholarships and later studied acting with Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Martin Landau at the Actors Studio. He later starred with Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee in the 1959 production of “A Raisin in the Sun” on Broadway. Gossett also starred in the film version in 1961 and went on to act in more than 50 movies.

In 1977, Gossett starred as Fiddler in the groundbreaking miniseries about slavery, "Roots" with John Amos, Ben Vereen and LeVar Burton. The Broadway star won an Emmy for his performance and in 1982, he went on to star as Sgt. Emil Foley in "An Officer and a Gentleman," the role that earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Black man to win an Academy Award in that category in 1983.

The Oscar winner later told CBS News that he didn't hear his name being called after winning the coveted award.

"My agent hit me in the chest and said, 'They mentioned your name!' And I had to look at him 'cause I thought I was asleep," said Gossett, "And I looked around and there was applause. Not supposed to be possible. So, that's a piece of history." Gossett also won a Golden Globe Award for his performance.

Gosset went on to star in numerous television shows and films, including "Iron Eagle" and three sequels of the action film. He also starred in "Diggestown," "The Josephine Baker Story," "A Good Man in Africa," "Why Did I Get Married Too?" and "The Book of Negroes," just to name a few.

In 2023, Gossett also starred in the musical version of "The Color Purple" as the grumpy patriarch. The film also starred Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo and David Alan Grier, and all three shared moving t