Posted on 01/07/2022 7:32:35 AM PST by Borges
Sidney Poitier, a Bahamian-American actor who became the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1963 film "Lilies of the Field," has died. He was 94.
News of the legendary actor and filmmaker’s death was confirmed to FOX News on Friday by the Bahamas Foreign Affairs' office.
Poitier, who was born in Miami and raised in the Bahamas, was the son of tomato farmers before launching a career that went from small, hard-won theater parts to eventual Hollywood stardom. Poitier received acclaim for several films, including "A Raisin in the Sun," "Porgy and Bess" and "A Patch of Blue."
In 2009, he received the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from former President Barack Obama. The White House at the time noted his work as a "groundbreaking actor, becoming the top Black movie star in the 1950s and 1960s."
"Poitier insisted that the film crew on The Lost Man be at least 50 percent African American, and starred in the first mainstream movies portraying ‘acceptable’ interracial marriages and interracial kissing. Poitier began his acting career without any training or experience by auditioning at the American Negro Theatre," it said in the 2009 statement.
Arizona State University’s new film school, The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, was named after him in early 2021. The university did not make Poitier, who had remained out of the public eye for some time, available for an interview. But his daughter Beverly Poitier-Henderson told The Associated Press at the time that her father was "doing well and enjoying his family," and considered it an honor to be the namesake of the new film school.
Just damn...
That’s sad. The Lilies of the Field is one of my favorite movies. As well as Sneakers.
They call me MR. TIBBS.
im not big on hollywood worship...but Poitier was a terrific actor...
I didn't really understand at the time.
"We all stands up. We all sits down." :)
Watching these awards spectacles today you would think that a Black person never won an award or nominated for one..
An enormous fan of his.
The 1967 troika of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love and In The Heat Of The Night were fantastic roles and great Civil Rights examples of the period.
He deserves a LOT more credit for pushing racial equality than he gets. Each of those three roles were classic conservative roles.
RIP
I have long assumed he was already dead. I’m sorry for his passing.
Edge of the City...A Raisin in the Sun....great films...
It seems to me he was obsessed with his skin color…50 % black film crew..
.
He deserves credit for his great talent and the recognition of his talent. He's someone other Blacks should look up to and understand that he was recognized for his talent, not his color.
I sincerely enjoyed his acting.
It’s good he had so many years.
man with incredible charisma or “presence”. There will be much mourning in the Bahamas where he is a huge hero.
He won the Best Actor award because he was simply THE BEST ACTOR of all that year. Not because he was the “Best black actor.”
Not like today’s black whiners.
To Sir with Love was awesome. Great actor and person.
Sad to hear. Wife and I just night before last watched re-watched Lillies of the Field.
I was awfully found of “In the Heat of the Night”.
“It seems to me he was obsessed with his skin color…50 % black film crew..”
Relax, he didn’t Burn, Loot, Murder. He was a positive force.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.