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Sir Sidney Poitier KBE, (IPA pronunciation: ['pwɑtiˌeɪ]) (born February 20, 1927), is an Academy Award-winning Bahamian-American actor, film director, and activist. He has been hailed as a breakthrough star thanks to his 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.
Early life and acting careerSidney Poitier was born on the high seas en route to Miami, Florida, where his farmer parents, a Bahamian father of Haitian descent and a Bahamian mother, 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, 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.
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). (Note that James Baskett was the first to receive an Oscar, but it was an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus in the Walt Disney production of Song of the South in 1948; Poitier was the first black male to win, or even be nominated, in a competitive category. Hattie McDaniel had been the first actor to break the race barrier in 1939 when she won Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind). 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
HonoursPoitier 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 chooses not to do so. Poitier also has served as non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan (since April 1997), and to the United Nations (UN) 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 (SAG), 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 lifePoitier 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 The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2000). In January 2007, the latter became an Oprah's Book Club selection. Miscellany
Awards and recognition
FilmographyActor
Director
Television
See also
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