Louis Gossett Jr. (pic), the first Black man to win an Academy Award as best supporting actor, has died aged 87, a family statement confirmed on Friday without revealing the cause of death.

The Oscar-winning actor's roles ranged from an enslaved man in the TV mini-series "Roots" to a no-nonsense drill sergeant in "An Officer and a Gentlemen." In "Sadat," he had the title role, playing the Egyptian leader who made peace with Israel.