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Jan 23, 2022 · Sir Sidney Poitier 's memorial service will be held privately. In a statement shared with ET Sunday, the late actor's family announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poitier's...
- 7 min
- Mona Khalifeh
Jan 24, 2022 · Iconic actor and civil rights activist Sidney Poitier died Jan. 6 at the age of 94. By. Ally Mauch. Published on January 24, 2022 10:24AM EST. Sidney Poitier 's family is holding a private...
- 2 min
- Ally Mauch
Jan 7, 2022 · President Biden paid tribute to Sidney Poitier on Friday evening, remembering him as a “once-in-a-generation actor and advocate” whose work “changed the world on and off the big screen.”
- Early Life
- Career Breakthrough
- Filmmaker
- Activism and Diplomacy
- Widely Honored
- Poitier on Being A Groundbreaking Black Star
Poitier was born Feb. 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, to Bahamian parents. Raised in the Bahamas, he came to the U.S. at 15 and worked as a dishwasher before landing an audition with the American Negro Theater. His first big success was on Broadway in “Lysistrata,” which was soon followed by breakout movie roles in “No Way Out” and “Blackboard Jungle,...
When Poitier starred in “The Defiant Ones” in 1958, his performance earned an Academy Award nomination. He starred in “A Raisin in the Sun” during its first run on Broadway in 1959; two years later, he reprised his role for the big screen. In 1963, for his performance in “Lilies of the Field,” Poitier won one of the most noteworthy Oscars of all ti...
Poitier’s later career included directing – with the Gene Wilder (1933–2016) and Richard Pryor (1940–2005)movie “Stir Crazy,” he created the highest-grossing film by an African-American director at the time. Other films that saw Poitier behind the camera include “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Stir Crazy,” and “Fast Forward.” Poitier also continued to ac...
In the 1960s, Poitier was also involved in the civil rights movement, joining Harry Belafonte when he traveled south for 1964’s Freedom Summer and becoming involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. A Bahamian citizen, Poitier was named ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan in 1997, holding the position until 2007. He was also the a...
Poitier was knighted in 1974, carrying the honor of Knight Commander of the British Empire. Other awards and honors bestowed on Poitier include life achievement awards from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute, Kennedy Center Honors, NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame membership and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“It’s been an enormous responsibility. And I accepted it, and I lived in a way that showed how I respected that responsibility. I had to. In order for others to come behind me, there were certain things I had to do.” —from a 2000 interview with Oprah Winfrey
Jan 7, 2022 · Sidney Poitier, groundbreaking star of American movies, has died at the age of 94. His death was confirmed by the office of the prime minister of the Bahamas.
- 2 min
- Walter Ray Watson
Jan 7, 2022 · Poitier, who died Thursday at the age of 94, blazed trails as a Black actor who rose to fame during a time when there were few starring roles offered to African Americans. He set a standard for...
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Jan 21, 2022 · The family of Sidney Poitier on Friday offered a statement sharing details of the late actor-director’s planned memorial service.
