“An Officer and a Gentleman” star Louis Gossett Jr.’s cause of death was Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), per Friday’s report from the coroner.
The report, which was first obtained by TMZ, lists COPD as his main cause of death, with heart failure and atrial fibrillation as contributing conditions. The actor, who made Hollywood history as the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar, died on March 29 in Santa Monica, Calif.
Gossett Jr. got his start on the stage with roles in plays in the 1950s and ’60s before breaking big with his Emmy-winning role as Fiddler in the 1977 miniseries “Roots.”