Leslie Uggams Remembers 'Roaring with Laughter' with Her Late Roots Costar Louis Gossett Jr. (Exclusive)

Leslie Uggams pays tribute to her late Roots Costar Louis Gossett Jr. after his death.

Following the news of Gossett’s death, the Emmy nominee, 80, tells PEOPLE that the actor told “the best stories of anyone I’ve ever known.”

“He was just mesmerizing… He would just make us laugh out loud and be like, ‘I can’t believe this story, this is unbelievable,'” 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

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Besides that Roots — a critically acclaimed 1977 miniseries depicting slavery in the U.S. — the pair also co-starred in The back steps of the White House.

Uggams remembers Gossett, who was the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, 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

“When you work with people like that, they raise the bar,” she says of Gossett. “So either you raise it with them or you’re left behind. And that’s what he did.”

“You better bring it because every one of their performances is going to be amazing,” she continues. “And I like working with people like that. And that was Lou. I mean, he was amazing. Such a gentleman too, he was so brilliant at it. And so it was special.”

Louis Gossett Jr Color Purple Costars pay tribute to actor after his death: ‘A true legend’

Leslie Uggams and Louis Gossett Jr. attend a SiriusXM Town Hall with the cast of “Roots” hosted by Joe Madison at SiriusXM Studios on February 5, 2013 in New York City.

Matthew Eisman/Getty

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Uggams recalls that Gossett was “magical” as an actor, sharing, “I saw Lou when he was doing an off-Broadway show because a friend of mine that I went to school with was doing that off-Broadway show. And I thought, wow, who is this guy? And sure enough, I was there one night when he did it Raisins in the sun. Black people, I mean, he was just amazing. Incredible.”

Gossett’s family confirmed the actor’s death in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Friday and asked people to “respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.”

The Associated Press first broke the news of Gossett’s death. The actor’s nephew told the publication that he died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California. The cause of death has not yet been revealed.

“We would like to thank everyone for their condolences,” the family said in a statement.

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