Sidney Poitier Overview:

Legendary actor, Sidney Poitier, was born Sidney L. Poitier on Feb 20, 1927 in Miami, FL. Poitier died at the age of 94 on Jan 6, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA .

MINI BIO:

Imposingly good-looking black American actor - the first to attract international audiences as a leading man. Although he broke down few actual barriers, he brought dignity to the portrayal of the black man on screen and, more important, played several roles that might have easily been portrayed by a white man. As an actor, most interesting when being less than saintly.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Sidney Poitier was nominated for two Academy Awards, winning one for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field (as Homer Smith) in 1963. He also won one Honorary Award in 2001 in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being .

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1958Best ActorThe Defiant Ones (1958)Noah CullenNominated
1963Best ActorLilies of the Field (1963)Homer SmithWon

Academy Awards (Honorary Oscars)

YearAwardDescription
2001Honorary Awardin recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being

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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures. Sidney Poitier's handprints and footprints were 'set in stone' at Grauman's Chinese Theater during imprint ceremony #134 on Jun 23, 1967.

BlogHub Articles:

stars in “To Sir, With Love”

By Stephen Reginald on Mar 11, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

stars in “To Sir, With Love” To Sir, With Love (1967) is a British drama directed by James Clavell who also wrote the screenplay based on the autobiographical novel (1959) by the same name by E. R. Braithwaite. Sidney Poitier stars as a teacher in an inner-city school... Read full article


: For Love of Ivy, Lost Man, Brother John

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 10, 2022 From 4 Star Films

In honor of the inimitable , I spent some time revisiting a bevy of his finest films and also some underrated ones that were new to me. Because he was a prominent archetype for a black movie star, when he was often the only one, it’s fascinating to see the roles he chose at diffe... Read full article


The Slender Thread (1965) Connecting and Anne Bancroft

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 8, 2022 From 4 Star Films

The Slender Thread feels a bit reminiscent of one of those self-contained film noir from a previous decade like 14 Hours or Dial 1119. It’s not a very ambitious scale, still, within its confines, it’s a rather enjoyable film. But, of course, the main attractions are and An... Read full article


The Defiant Ones (1958): Tony Curtis and

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 5, 2022 From 4 Star Films

I can’t have made this up myself, but The Defiant Ones is a testament to the pithy axiom that proximity breeds empathy. Stanley Kramer has very clear intent when he builds the premise of his story out of a white and black prisoner, in the era of Jim Crow, who are chained together for the major... Read full article


To Sir, With Love (1967): As a Mentor

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 3, 2022 From 4 Star Films

In the 1950s Blackboard Jungle was one of the early pivotal roles for where he plays a disaffected youth who is ultimately mentored and encouraged by his teacher: Glenn Ford. Thus, it seems fitting, at the height of his own powers in 1967, Poitier left the student behind and graduated... Read full article


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Sidney Poitier Quotes:

[Splashing himself with water outside]
Homer Smith: Oh! Why couldn't they have asked me to build a bathtub? With nice, *hot* water?


John 'Joker' Jackson: Cullen, I can't make it.
Noah Cullen: [Holding out his arm as if they are still chained together] Come on, man, you draggin' the chain.


Mark Thackeray: Those kids are devils incarnate, huh. I've tried everything, everything -- but nothing I've tried... kids -- kids -- that's it -- kids!

read more quotes from Sidney Poitier...



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Best Actor Oscar 1963






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Grauman's Imprints

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Sidney Poitier on the
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Sidney Poitier Facts
His performance as Detective Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night (1967) is ranked #19 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.

Was named #22 greatest actor on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the American Film Institute

Poitier was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974. He is thus entitled to be known as Sir Sidney Poitier, but does not himself use this title.

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