FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Gaining an ancestor is what C. Nathaniel Brown said his friend Louis Gossett Jr. would describe his transition.
“Well, he would say it’s not a loss he would say that we’ve gained something,” Brown said.
Brown told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln he worked with Gossett while creating a documentary about dementia, entitled “Remember Me: Dementia in the African American Community.”
“He wanted us to know there’s more and to look ahead, it’s up to me to make an impact and that’s what he said,” Brown told Lincoln.
Dr. Lori James said Gossett announced last year he was diagnosed with dementia.
He was honored last year at The Purple Affair, a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s awareness put on by the James M. Dixon Foundation.
“When he came, it was like this bigger-than-life spirit. But my spirit said this is the person you need to honor,” James said.
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His secondary caregiver Sonja Gunter said despite him having dementia, he was still alert which makes his passing surprising.
“I just wasn’t prepared for this news,” Gunter said.
Gunter told Lincoln most of his family lives in California and moved there after Christmas to be closer with them.
Gossett was the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots.”
Gossett’s first cousin Neal L. Gossett told The Associated Press that the actor died in Santa Monica, California. A statement from the family said Gossett died Friday morning. No cause of death was revealed.
Gossett’s cousin remembered a man who walked with Nelson Mandela and who also was a great joketeller, a relative who faced and fought racism with dignity and humor.
“Remember Me: Dementia in the African American Community” will air on April 6 at 5 p.m. at the NGC Cinema in Snellville.
For more information about the documentary, CLICK HERE.
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