Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

"We know this is a struggle. Take the low pay now. Next time we’ll get them. Next time never came. Finally, there did come a time when I took a stand saying no to a part unless the studio paid me properly. It took the studio all of five minutes to say “Next” and hand the part to someone else. That scene broke it for me sending me headlong into self-loathing…" These aren't words from Taraji P. Henson’s tearful testimony of Hollywood career struggles.  These are reflections  torn from the pages of the late Louis Gossett Jr’s 2010 memoir  An Actor and A Gentleman.  The book's title  is a  nod to 1982 film  An Officer and A Gentleman featuring Gossett's  riveting performance as  swaggering Marine drill instructor  Emil Foley earning t he Brooklyn-born actor an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  Gossett was the first Black actor to win in the category and the  American-born Black actor to ever win an Academy Award (Sidney Poitier was born in the Bahamas). His  Oscar win