Sidney Poitier, Academy Award-Winning Actor and Icon Passes at 94
Sidney Poitier, Bahamian actor, producer, writer, civil rights activists, and director, has passed away at the age of 94. Best known for his role as Homer Smith in the film, Lilies of the Field, he became the first African-American actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.
Poitier was deemed Hollywood’s first black movie star and raised the bar for himself and for those who came after him. He started the trend where African-American actors would reject roles that were offered to them that fit the racial stereotype, leading us to see African-American actors in roles as doctors, police, and other professionals. His roles in The Jackal (1997), both of which were high-profile, led to him having a large influence on younger generations.
1964: Sidney Poitier’s Oscars acceptance speech after he became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 7, 2022
pic.twitter.com/D3OUk6g7sr
Outside of his impact as an actor in the film industry, Poitier has had a political impact globally during his life as well; serving as a Bahamas ambassador for Japan from 1997 to 2007.
if there is Twitter in heaven, then, Sir Sidney Poitier, this tweet is sending so much love and respect to you, sir. https://t.co/ki2TF4uhph
— SISTRchi (@SISTRchi) January 7, 2022
Because of this, Poitier has garnered many awards throughout his lifetime, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by former President Barack Obama. According to the Office of Press Secretary, it states, “Sidney Poitier is a groundbreaking actor, becoming the top black movie star in the 1950s and 1960s. Poitier is the first African American to be nominated and win a Best Actor Academy Award, receive an award at a top international film festival (Venice Film Festival), and be the top-grossing movie star in the United States.”
When talking about the influence that Poitier had on us, actor and producer Tyler Perry couldn’t have said it better. In his Instagram tribute post to the late actor, he says, “The grace and class that this man has shown throughout his entire life, the example he set for me, not only as a black man but as a human being will never be forgotten. There is no man in this business who has been more of a North Star for me than Sidney Porter.”
Even though we lost an icon and an influential voice, his legacy still remains.
