From left: Leslie Uggams and Lou Gossett Jr.Photo:Monica Schipper/WireImage; Amy Sussman/Getty
Monica Schipper/WireImage; Amy Sussman/Getty
Leslie Uggamsis paying tribute to her lateRootscostarLouis Gossett Jr.afterhis death.
“He was just mesmerizing…He’d just keep us roaring with laughter and just like, ‘I can’t believe this story, this is amazing,’” she recalls. “He was full of joy and mischief.”
From left: Al Roker, Levar Burton, Leslie Uggams and Lou Gossett Jr. appear on NBC News' “Today” show.Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty
In addition toRoots— the critically acclaimed 1977 miniseries that chronicled slavery in the U.S. — the pair also starred together inBackstairs at the White House.
Uggams remembers Gossett, who was the first Black man to win a best supporting actor Oscar, encouraging his fellow performers to up their game.
clockwise from bottom left: Olivia Cole, Louis Gossett Jr., Leslie Uggams in “Backstairs at the White House”.Everett
Everett
“When you work with people like that, they raise the bar,” she says of Gossett. “And so you either raise it with them or you’re left behind. And that’s what he did.”
“You better bring it because they are just going to be incredible every single performance,” she continues. “And I love working with people like that. And that’s who Lou was. I mean, he was incredible. Also such a gentleman, he was just so brilliant at that. And so it was special.”
Matthew Eisman/Getty
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Uggams recalls Gossett being “magic” as an actor, sharing, “I saw Lou when he did an off-Broadway show because a friend of mine who I went to school with was doing this off-Broadway play. And I thought, wow, who is this guy? And then of course, I was there one night when he didRaisin in the Sun.The Blacks, I mean, he was just incredible. Incredible.”
TheAssociated Presswas first to report news of Gossett’s death. The actor’s nephew told the outlet that he died Thursday night in Santa Monica, Calif. No cause of death has yet been revealed.
“We would like to thank everyone for their condolences,” the family said in its statement.
source: people.com
