Sidney Poitier may not be as well known to younger movie goers, but his influence and impact in Hollywood and cinema in general has given African-Americans the opportunity to be seen in a whole new and much more positive light. Previously, blacks in films were known for playing subordinate characters, but Poitier changed all that with his marvelous performances of educated, civilized and extremely likeable characters.
Born in Miami, Florida on February 20, 1927 to Bahamian parents who were visiting the States. He was raised on Cat Island in the Bahamas and moved back to Miami when he was 15 before finally settling in New York City when he was 17.
After a few years of working as a dishwasher in the city, Poitier enrolled in the United States Army and then returned to working as a dishwasher. He began going to auditions and when a successful one landed him a spot on the American Negro Theatre, he began seriously looking at a career in acting.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that he was tone deaf and therefore unable to sing and dance as was custom for African-American performers at the time, Poitier was left the American Negro Theatre and vowed to study the craft of acting and dedicated six months to launching his acting career. This included working to get rid of his noticeable Bahamian accent and refine his acting skills.
His hard work paid off and he was then cast in the lead role of a Broadway production of the Greek play LYSISTRATA for which he received rave reviews. He was then forced to make a choice between starring in another Broadway show or starring in a feature film. Poitier opted for the latter and made his film debut in NO WAY OUT in which he played a doctor who treats a bigoted man.
This role led to more and more film roles which were more prominent and interesting than were being offered to other African-American actors at the time with his breakout role being in the high-school drama BLACKBOARD JUNGLE.
Poitier’s string of successful film roles didn’t stop and he actually became the first African-American to win the 1963 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a nomadic handy-man in LILIES OF THE FIELD.
Only four years later, his success was cemented by his appearance in three of the most popular movies in cinema: TO SIR WITH LOVE, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT and GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. All three films dealt with the subject of race relation and featured Poitier as an educated, well-spoken and open-minded character which was a huge move from the usual stereotypical portrayal of African-Americans in movies at the time.
Poitier began shying away from acting in the ’70s and became more active behind the camera, directing hits such as GHOST DAD and STIR CRAZY and earned the Honourary Academy Award in 2001 for “his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.” He is currently the oldest living recipient of this honour.