SIDNEY POITIER

'Sir Sidney Poitier' KBE, (IPA pronunciation: ) (born February 20 1927), is an Academy Award-winning Bahamian American actor, film director, and activist. He broke through as a star in acclaimed performances in American films and plays, which, by consciously defying racial stereotyping, gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film audiences in the Western world.
In 1963, Poitier became the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor - for his role in ''Lilies of the Field''. The significance of this achievement was later compounded in 1967 when he starred in three very well received films - ''To Sir, With Love'', ''In the Heat of the Night'', and ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' - making him the top box office star of that year. ^[1]
Poitier has also directed a number of popular movies such as ''Uptown Saturday Night'', and ''Let's Do It Again'' (with friend Bill Cosby), and ''Stir Crazy'' (starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). In 2002, 38 years after receiving the Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive the Honorary Award in recognition of his "extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence."^[2]

Contents

Early life and acting career

Directorial career

Honours

Personal life

Affair with Diahann Carroll

Trivia

Awards and recognition

Filmography

Actor

Director

Television

See also

External links

References

Early life and acting career

There are two theories as to where Sidney Poitier was born, by his own account Sidney has stated he was born in the Bahamas. Apparently Sidney Poitier was born on the high seas en route to Miami, Florida, where his Bahamian parents, traveled to sell tomatoes and other produce from their farm on tiny Cat Island in The Bahamas. Poitier was born prematurely and was not originally expected to survive the boat ride; his birth was recorded in Miami (though he may not have been born there), as the vessel was already closer to Florida. He spent his early years on remote Cat Island, which had a population of 1,500 and no electricity.
Another conflicting description of Sidney's birth is that he was actually born in the Bahamas and later moved to the United States. This description of events was related by Sidney after accepting an award.
During his early teenage years, Poitier traveled to Nassau with his family. As he got older he displayed an increasing inclination toward juvenile delinquency. At the age of 15 his parents shipped him off to Miami to live with his older brother. At age 17, Poitier moved to New York City and held a string of menial jobs. During this time, he was arrested for vagrancy after being thrown out of his housing complex for not paying rent, and decided to join the United States Army. He then tried his hand at the American Negro Theater, where he was handily rejected by audiences. Determined to refine his acting skills and rid himself of his noticeable Bahamian accent, he spent the next six months dedicating himself to achieving theatrical success. On his second attempt at the theater, he was noticed and given a leading role in the Broadway production "Lysistrata", for which he got excellent reviews. By the end of 1949, he was having to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the film ''No Way Out'' (1950). His performance in ''No Way Out'' as a doctor treating a white bigot got him plenty of notice and led to more roles, each considerably more interesting and prominent than most black actors of the time were getting, though still less interesting and prominent than those white actors routinely obtained.
In Hollywood, Poitier made many memorable movies. His breakout role was as a member of an incorrigible high school class in the 1955 film ''Blackboard Jungle'' (although, like most of the actors in the film, he was not a teenager, and was in fact aged 27).
He was the first male black actor to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award (for ''The Defiant Ones'', 1958), and also the first to win the Academy Award for Best Actor (for ''Lilies of the Field'' in 1963). (James Baskett was the first to ''receive'' an Oscar, an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus in the Walt Disney production of ''Song of the South'' in 1948).
He acted in the first production of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' on Broadway in 1959, and later starred in the film version that was released in 1961. He also gave memorable performances in ''The Bedford Incident'' (1965), ''A Patch of Blue'' (1965) co-starring Elizabeth Hartman and Shelley Winters; ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?'' (1967); and ''To Sir, with Love'' (1967). To many audiences, however, Poitier will forever be remembered as the unintimidable Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania detective in the hit 1967 movie ''In the Heat of the Night'' and its two sequels: ''They Call Me Mister Tibbs'' (1970) and ''The Organization'' (1971).

Directorial career

Poitier has directed several films, the most successful being the Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder comedy ''Stir Crazy'', which for years was the highest grossing film directed by a person of African descent. His feature film directorial debut was the western ''Buck and the Preacher'' in which Poitier also starred in alongside Harry Belafonte. Poitier replaced original director Joseph Sargent. The trio of Poitier, Cosby, and Belafonte reunited again (with Poitier again directing) in ''Uptown Saturday Night''. Poitier also directed (with Cosby starring in) ''Let's Do It Again'', ''A Piece of the Action'', and ''Ghost Dad''. He appeared on Oprah Winfrey's 20th Anniversary show with a speech about Oprah.

Honours

Poitier was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1974. Being a citizen of the Bahamas, a Commonwealth Realm that uses the British Honours System, this is a substantive knighthood which entitles him to use the title "Sir", though he usually chooses not to do so. Poitier also has served as non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan (since April 1997), and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In these diplomatic roles, the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to him as "His Excellency Sir Sidney Poitier" [1].
In 2000 he received the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild, and in 2002 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievement in the film industry from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In June 2006, the AFI released its list of the 100 Most Inspiring Movies. Poitier was the only actor to have five of his films appear on the list (''The Defiant Ones'', ''A Raisin in the Sun'', ''Lilies of the Field'', ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'', and ''In the Heat of the Night'').

Personal life

Poitier was first married to Juanita Hardy from April 29 1950 until 1965. He has been married to Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian-born former actress of Lithuanian descent, since January 23 1976. He has four children by his first marriage and two children by his second marriage, all girls. His fifth daughter is actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier.
He has written two autobiographical books, ''This Life'' (1980) and '' (2000). In January 2007, the latter became an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Affair with Diahann Carroll

In the 1970s during the second marriage to his wife Joanna Shimkus Poitier had a decade long affiar with actress Diahann Carroll. However, Poitier glosses over the affair that almost ended his second marriage in his memoir.

Trivia

★ In 1983, unbeknownst to Poitier, impostor David Hampton spent several months in New York City posing as "David Poitier", Sidney Poitier's nonexistent son. By the time of Hampton's exposure and arrest, he had used this ruse to gain access to private clubs, as well as hospitality and money from the rich, privileged, and famous of New York City. Poitier is therefore mentioned extensively in John Guare's play ''Six Degrees of Separation'' (later filmed) which dramatized this incident.

★ Poitier reluctantly agreed to star in Otto Preminger's 1959 film version of George Gershwin's musical ''Porgy and Bess''. His voice was dubbed by opera singer Robert McFerrin, Sr., father of Bobby McFerrin.

★ A version of Poitier was in South Park in the episode Mecha-Streisand, where he turned into a monster much like the character Gamera the Invincible.

★ In his latest book, ''Measure of a Man'', Poitier wrote that after his premature birth, his mother went to a fortune teller to find out what would happen. The fortune teller told his mother that he would one day walk among kings, a prediction that came true when he was appointed Bahamian Ambassador to Japan and met the Emperor.

★ Busta Rhymes mentions Poiter in the song "Gimme Some More" from the album Extinction Level Event.

Awards and recognition

;2002 Honorary Oscar (Oscar statuette)

★ For his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.
;Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album

★ Grammy Awards of 2001

★
★ Rick Harris, John Runnette (producers) and Sidney Poitier for ''The Measure of a Man''
;NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award

★ 2001: 'Sidney Poitier'
;NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

★ 2000: 'Sidney Poitier,' ''The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn''
;Kennedy Center Honors

★ 1999: 'Sidney Poitier'
;SAG Life Achievement Award

★ 1995: 'Sidney Poitier'
;AFI Life Achievement Award

★ 1992: 'Sidney Poitier'
;

★ 1964: 'Sidney Poitier', ''Lilies of the Field''
;Academy Award for Best Actor :

★ 1963: 'Sidney Poitier' for ''Lilies of the Field''
;BAFTA Award for Best Actor

★ 1958: Foreign: 'Sidney Poitier' for ''The Defiant Ones''
;British Honours System

★ Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974.

Filmography

Actor

★ ''From Whence Cometh My Help'' (1949) (documentary)

★ ''No Way Out'' (1950)

★ ''Cry, The Beloved Country'' (1951)

★ ''Red Ball Express'' (1952)

★ ''Go, Man, Go!'' (1954)

★ ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955)

★ ''Good-bye, My Lady'' (1956)

★ ''Edge of the City'' (1957)

★ ''Something of Value'' (1957)

★ ''Band of Angels'' (1957)

★ ''Virgin Island'' (1958)

★ ''The Mark of the Hawk'' (1958)

★ ''The Defiant Ones'' (1958)

★ ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959)

★ ''All the Young Men'' (1960)

★ ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1961)

★ ''Paris Blues'' (1961)

★ ''Pressure Point'' (1962)

★ ''The Long Ships'' (1963)

★ ''Lilies of the Field'' (1963)

★ ''The Bedford Incident'' (1965)

★ ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965)

★ ''A Patch of Blue'' (1965)

★ ''The Slender Thread'' (1965)

★ ''Duel at Diablo'' (1966)

★ ''To Sir, with Love'' (1967)

★ ''In the Heat of the Night'' (1967)

★ ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' (1967)

★ ''For Love of Ivy'' (1968)

★ ''The Lost Man'' (1969)

★ ''King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis'' (1970) (documentary) (narrator)

★ ''They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!'' (1970)

★ ''Brother John'' (1971)

★ ''Not Me Boss!!'' (1971)

★ ''The Organization'' (1971)

★ ''Buck and the Preacher'' (1972)

★ ''A Warm December'' (1973)

★ ''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974)

★ ''The Wilby Conspiracy'' (1975)

★ ''Let's Do it Again'' (1975)

★ ''A Piece of the Action'' (1977)

★ ''Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist'' (1979) (short subject) (narrator)

★ ''Shoot to Kill'' (1988)

★ ''Little Nikita'' (1988)

★ ''Sneakers'' (1992)

★ ''A Century of Cinema'' (1994) (documentary)

★ ''Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick'' (1996) (documentary)

★ ''The Jackal'' (1997)

★ ''The simple life of Noah Dearborn (1999)

★ ''Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey'' (2001) (documentary) (narrator)

★ ''The Last Brickmaker In America'' (2001)

★ ''Tell Them Who You Are'' (2004) (documentary)

Director

★ ''Buck and the Preacher'' (1972)

★ ''A Warm December'' (1973)

★ ''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974)

★ ''Let's Do it Again'' (1975)

★ ''A Piece of the Action'' (1977)

★ ''Stir Crazy'' (1980)

★ ''Fast Forward'' (1985)

★ ''Ghost Dad'' (1990)

Television

★ ''Separate but Equal'' (1991)

★ ''Children of the Dust'' (1995)

★ ''To Sir, with Love II'' (1996)

★ ''Mandela and De Klerk'' (1997)

★ ''David and Lisa'' (1998)

★ ''The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn'' (1999)

★ ''The Last Bricklayer in America'' (2001)

See also

★ List of African American firsts

External links

★ Sidney Poitier biography and video interview excerpts by The National Visionary Leadership Project

★ Official publisher web page

References

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★

★

★ Poitier breaks new ground with Oscar win (BBC, April 13, 1964)

★ African-Americans: Sidney Poitier

★ Sidney Poitier to get Marian Anderson Award (July 26, 2006)

★ The Purpose Prize: Sidney Poitier

★ The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography - Review