Guide Note

Sidney Poitier is an actor, director and singer who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the itinerant worker Homer Smith in the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.

Fast Facts

In Porgy and Bess his voice was dubbed by opera singer Robert McFerrin, Sr
Married: Joanna Simkus
Is alleged to have been born aboard a ship on the way to Miami, Florida
Grew up on Cat Island, population 1,500
Is the only actor to have five of his films on the AFI's Top 100 Inspiring Films
Had a 10 year affair with Diahann Carroll which almost ended his 2nd marriage
Former member of the United States Army
Is a non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan

Brief Biography

Raised on a small Bahamian island, Poitier began acting in the late 1940s after leaving the U.S. Army. He first appeared in the 1950 Joseph Mankiewicz film No Way Out and had his first breakout role at the age of 27 by playing a high school delinquent in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. In 1958, he became the first black actor ever nominated for a competitive Academy Award, for his role as escaped prisoner Noah Cullen in The Defiant Ones, and in 1963, became the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies in the Field. Through these successes, Poitier became Hollywood's first African-American leading man, and his films In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love and A Patch of Blue have become American classics. He has also directed several films, including the 1980 Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor comedy Stir Crazy.

Categories

Entertainment | Actors | Film Directors and Producers

View Note History

Sidney Poitier

The Mahalo Top 7

IMDb: Sidney Poitier Filmography
Wikipedia: Sidney Poitier
Fathom: "A Dialogue with Sidney Poitier"
TCM: Sidney Poitier Biography and Filmography
BBC: 1964: Poitier Breaks New Ground with Oscar Win
PBS: American Masters-Sidney Poitier
Kennedy-Center.org: Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier News and Articles

Oscars.org: Sidney Poitier Voted Honorary Academy Award (2002)
Yahoo! News: Sidney Poitier
Oprah.com: Memorable Moments: Oprah's Interview with Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier Photos

Google Image Search: Sidney Poitier
Yahoo! Image Search: Sidney Poitier
AOL Image Search: Sidney Poitier
Live Image Search: Sidney Poitier
WireImage.com: Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier Videos

YouTube: Sidney Poitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Time: 4:23)
YouTube: Sidney Poitier in To Sir With Love (Time: 3:12)
YouTube: Porgy & Bess 1959 Film Footage (Time: 2:49)
YouTube: Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field (Time: 3:06)
YouTube: In the Heat of the Night Trailer (Time: 2:43)
YouTube: Scene from A Patch of Blue (Time: 5:44)
YouTube: A Tribute to Sidney Poitier (Time: 2:43)
YouTube and Google Video: Sidney Poitier Video Clips

Sidney Poitier Gossip and Blogs

Tuneupyoureq.com: Sidney Poitier's 7 EQ Lessons Part 1 (2007)
Vox.com: Obama and Sidney Poitier (2007)
60 Second Review: "The Measure of a Man" by Sidney Poitier
Bright Lights After Dark: Sidney Poitier's Daughter (2007)
A Pattern Tub: Denzel Washington is......Sidney Poitier (2006)

Sidney Poitier Biographies and Profiles

Biography.com: Sidney Poitier
CivicVentures: Sidney Poitier Biography
Review Online: "The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography"
IMDb: Sidney Poitier Biography and Trivia

Sidney Poitier Timeline

Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
February 20, 1927: born
1947: Sepia Cinderella
1950: No Way Out
1954: Go, Man, Go!
1956: Good-bye, My Lady
1957: Band of Angels
1959: Porgy and Bess
1961: A Raisin in the Sun
1963: Lilies of the Field
1964: Becomes first African-American actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor forLilies of the Field
1965: A Patch of Blue
1967: To Sir, with Love
1967: In the Heat of the Night
1967: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1970: They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!
1973: A Warm December
1974: Is bestowed the title of "Sir" from the Order of the British Empire
1988: Little Nikita
1997: The Jackal
2000: Wins a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild
2001: The Last Brickmaster in America

Sidney Poitier DVDs and Merchandise

eBay: Sidney Poitier Memorabilia
Amazon.com: Sidney Poitier Merchandise
Google Products: Sidney Poitier Merchandise Search
Overstock.com: Sidney Poitier DVD's and Audio Books
AllPosters.com: Sidney Poitier Posters

Related Searches

To Sir, With Love | Little Nikita | Lilies of the Field | In the Heat of the Night | Porgy and Bess | They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! | Sydney Poitier | Diahann Carroll | Caroll O'Connor | Dorothy Dandridge | Sammy Davis, Jr | Pearl Bailey | Rod Steiger | Lee Grant

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