First African American winner of an Oscar and absolute legend of the silver screen: international cinema mourns Sidney Poitier
World of American and international cinema in mourning for the sudden death of the great Sidney Poitier. The Miami-born actor of Bahamian descent became a film legend when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 for his performance in Lilies of the Field. Thousands of messages of condolence circulated on the web and from all over the world.
Sidney Poitier’s childhood was not too lucky. He was born in You love me, Florida, on February 20 of 1927. Immediately after his birth, his parents, two modest merchants of the Bahamas, they decided to return to live in their homeland, precisely in Cat. There the family remained until they were 10 in Sidney, when they moved again, this time to Nassau.
When he was 15, Poitier moved again, this time with his older brother, returning to his hometown of Miami.
At the age of only 17 Sidney also broke away from his brother, moving alone to New York. In the big apple he lived for several years, moving ahead of his wits.
Sidney Poitier’s Incredible Career
Poitier had several experiences before finally devoting himself to an acting career. In 1943, he even lied about his age in order to enlist with theUS army.
After a few minor experiences, he comes to success with his performance in the film The mud wall. Role that allowed him to be first-time Oscar nominee in the category of best leading actor.
Golden opportunity postponed for only a few years. In 1964, in fact, he was again a candidate for the victory of the coveted award for his performance in the film The Lilies of the Field. This time he managed to take the statuette home, thus becoming the first African American actor to do it.
This record remained his until 1983, when the colleague Louis Gossett Jr he in turn won the statuette.
Other roles by Sidney Poitier worthy of note are undoubtedly those of Virgil Tibbs Inspector Tibbs’ hot night (1967), by John Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967) and by Warren Stantin in On the trail of the killer (1988).
In 2002 he was also awarded an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. The American Film Institute has entered Poitier al twenty-second place among the biggest stars in the history of cinema.
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