re: RIP Louis Gossett, Jr.

Almost impossible to imagine anyone other than him in An Officer and a Gentleman, except maybe Keith David (who was probably a bit too young at the time of filming, although he does seem older than mid-20s in The Thing released the same year).

As others have mentioned, brilliant in Enemy Mine, great as the titular character in Sadat, and had an accomplished, decades-long career on the New York stage.

While film audiences will likely remember him from AOAAG, for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the only thing he would probably take back is Jaws 3-D ( ).