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Unschooled beyond fourth grade in the Bahamas, sent to America by his parents at 14 to save him from a life of crime, shot in the leg at 16 during a 1943 race riot in Harlem, Poitier worked hard jobs as a menial laborer and an Army hospital orderly before he happened to spot an audition notice for the Negro Ensemble Theater. He was dismissed by the NET due to a thick accent and halting reading skills — and thereupon began the process of willing himself into becoming the most important American black pop culture figure of the 20th century....

The office of the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs has confirmed Sidney’s death to TMZ … however, the circumstances surrounding his passing are not yet known, nor do we know where he died.

Lilies of the Field (1963) No-family enjoyed another of its favorite movies this weekend, "Lilies of the Field" starring Sidney Poitier and Lilla Skalla. Poitier plays Homer Smith, a handyman drifter whose station wagon is his magic carpet and whose domain is the world. Driving through Arizona, he stops for radiator water at a desolate farm in Arizona, which turns out to be the convent of a group of eastern European sisters. Mother Superior (Maria), played by Skalla is a battle-axe nun in the pre-Vatican-II mold: extremely high on the faith and endurance scales; extremely low on the social grace...

CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey turned to an old acquaintance and personal idol for her first new book club choice since the James Frey scandal a year ago, announcing Friday that she had selected Sidney Poitier's "The Measure of a Man." Poitier's "spiritual autobiography," published in 2000, combines memories of such plays and films as "A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Defiant Ones" with observations about the Academy Award-winning actor's childhood, his religious faith, his thoughts on racism and the influence of such world leaders as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. "He writes really candidly and passionately about his childhood,...

Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman all owe a debt of gratitude to James Edwards. Today, two of Hollywood's five highest-paid stars are black: Will Smith and Denzel Washington. Jamie Foxx (Ray) and Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) are the front-runners for the best actor and best supporting actor Oscars, respectively. (And while I have yet to see Ray, I did see Million Dollar Baby, and can tell you that Freeman is every bit as good as his press). Smith, Washington, Foxx and Freeman all owe a debt of gratitude to James Edwards.Three years ago, Halle Berry...