42 Quotes by Louis Gossett, Jr.

One family, one nation, indivisible. That mentality is essential for our salvation.

I was at Woodstock. In the mud.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt, with those 'Oceans' films they do, they get to work together, make a whole lot of money, and make a major film statement. Imagine if once a year, myself, Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, we did some relevant film together to make a statement.

Working on the ABC movie 'Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige,'' which we filmed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was a special pleasure, particularly because I'd played baseball in high school.

We started the family Bible after slavery was abolished. My great-grandmother remembered the Bible being started, which meant that she was a slave as a young girl. When she died, the Bible was at least 105 years old, so she must have been nearly 115 years old. Her daughter, my grandmother, died at 97, and her husband at 98.

I grew up with all my cousins. The men worked, and the older women raised us - my mother, my aunt, my grandmother. My great-grandmother was the matriarch, and sometimes there were 30 of us.

One of the most fascinating projects I worked on right after 'Officer' was 'Sadat,' a role for which Anwar Sadat's widow, Jehan, personally chose me. Although this TV miniseries won me nominations for the Golden Globe and an Emmy, strangely, it was boycotted in the Middle East.

Sometimes I believe that the reason I have been able to do such exemplary work on the screen is because this is the only place I can be free, neither censured nor judged.

Some Marine units actually use 'An Officer and a Gentleman' in their training programs.