R.I.P. LOU GOSSETT, JR.

You commenced humbly, but when you hit it big, your success was on a level that most could at best envy. 

Your entire, cinematic landscape is, in fact, impressive: J.D.'s Revenge; An Officer and a Gentleman; Iron Eagle I, II & III; Iron Eagle on the Attack; Bram Stoker's (Legend of) the Mummy; The Punisher 1989; The Deep; Jaws 3D; The Lazarus Syndrome; Solar Attack; Momentum; Firewalker; The Fuzz Brothers; It Rained All Night the Day I Left; Jasper, Texas; Dangerous Relations; The Guardian 1984; The River Niger; The Laughing Policeman; The Choirboys; The White Dawn; The Landlord; The Skin Game; A Raisin in the Sun; The Bushbaby; Finders Keepers; Toy Soldiers; The Principal; A Good Man in Africa; The Wall That Heals; The Highwayman; The Fighting Man; Managua; Curse of the Starving Class; The Color Purple 2023; Terminal Countdown; The Lamp; Dog Jack; The Grace Card; Cover; The Perfect Game; Delgo; Why Did I Get Married Too?; Shannon's Rainbow; Undercover Grandpa; Three Months; Supervised; Double Play; The Undershepherd; Boiling Point; The Cuban; Little Ladies of the Night and The Dependables. 

On television, you were every bit as dynamic, starring on Resurrection Blvd; Boardwalk Empire; Bonanza; Little House on the Prairie; The Invaders; Extant; The Six Million Dollar Man; Stargate SG-1; The Dead Zone; Roots; Longstreet; Own Marshall; Daktari; Psych; The Partridge Family; Love, American Style; The New Land; The Mod Squad; The Rockford Files; Police Story; The Rookies; McCloud; Petrocelli; Harry O; Lucas Tanner; Saturday Night Life; The Family Guy; The Batman; The Jeffersons; Good Times; the almost unseen Black Bart; and as the mentoring regular, Walt Shepherd on The Powers of Matthew Star. 

Of all your fine performances, my favorite is that of Jerry the Drac in the Robinson Crusoe on Mars variant, Wolfgang Petersen's Enemy Mine. Your nuanced, reptilian performance played well, as you rejoined your Jaws 3D costar, Dennis Quaid, in what clinched the movie as one of science fiction's most compelling. 

Of course, your hard work and perseverance is what most will remember you for, Mr. Gossett, for the evidence thrives in your impressive queue, one designed and destined to stand the test of time.