Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor best known for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the tough-as-nails Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley). He was the first African-American male to win an Oscar in a supporting role, the second black male to win for acting, and the third African-American actor to win overall. His win ended a 19-year Oscar drought for African-Americans, the second longest in the Academy's history since Hattie McDaniel's 1939 win for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind..