The legendary Sidney Poitier passed away at 94 at his home in Los Angeles, Calif.
Poitier was an iconic movie star with over 50 film and television appearances and won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Homer Smith in 1963’s Lillies of the Field. He was the first black actor to win that award in doing so.
Sidney Poitier was the son of tomato farmers in the Bahamas and sustained an immaculate career in Hollywood. Poitier made films in the 1950s and 60s when profound changes were coming about in cinema. Amid racial attitudes in the civil rights era, Poitier was the face of elegance and class and always sought to end stereotypes with the characters he portrayed.
Other notable Potitier works include films such as To Sir with Love, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
He often shared his voice on the lack of diversity in Hollywood, stating that for years he was not just the “most popular Black movie star, but the only Black movie star.”
“I made films when the only other Black on the lot was the shoeshine boy,” said Poitier in an interview with Newsweek in 1988. “I was kind of the lone guy in town.”
According to his obituary in the Guardian, Sidney dropped out of school at the age of 13 to help support his family. His parents sent him to live with an older brother in New York a few years later. After a series of menial jobs, he joined the army in desperation due to the cold weather, claiming to be 18-years-old. His entertainment career started with an audition at the American Negro Theater in Harlem, where he was firmly rejected despite his inability to read, owing to a strong Bahamian accent.
Aside from his acting career, Poitier also served as the Bahamian ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007. In 1974, he was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
Sidney Poitier’s roles on-screen were widely accepted by all audiences, telling of his reputation of constantly trying to bridge the gap between people.