Sidney Poitier

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

101

Gender

Male

Birthday

1927-02-20

Day of death

2022-01-06 (94 years old)

Place of Birth

Miami, Florida, USA

Sidney Poitier

Biography

Sidney Poitier KBE (February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he became the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for Lilies of the Field. Other accolades include two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA), and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Major films featuring Poitier in a starring role include Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Defiant Ones (1958), To Sir, with Love (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Sneakers (1992), and The Jackal (1997). Later in his career, he turned to directing with features such as Buck and the Preacher (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Stir Crazy (1980), and Ghost Dad (1990). At the time of his death, Poitier was one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

Known For

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • The Philco Television Playhouse

    The Philco Television Playhouse

  • The Philco Television Playhouse

    The Philco Television Playhouse

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • The Jackal

    The Jackal

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Sneakers

    Sneakers

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • Tonight Starring Jack Paar

    Tonight Starring Jack Paar

  • Cinépanorama

    Cinépanorama

  • Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

    Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

  • A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story

    A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story

  • The Kennedy Center Honors

    The Kennedy Center Honors

  • Hollywood Legenden

    Hollywood Legenden

  • No Way Out

    No Way Out

  • The Mark of the Hawk

    The Mark of the Hawk

  • Sidney

    Sidney

  • Paris Blues

    Paris Blues

  • Nationtime

    Nationtime

  • Brother John

    Brother John

  • The Greatest Story Ever Told

    The Greatest Story Ever Told

  • Little Nikita

    Little Nikita

  • ABC Stage 67

    ABC Stage 67

  • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

    Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

  • Virgin Island

    Virgin Island

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • The Last Brickmaker in America

    The Last Brickmaker in America

  • The Organization

    The Organization

  • Duel at Diablo

    Duel at Diablo

  • In the Heat of the Night

    In the Heat of the Night

  • A Raisin in the Sun

    A Raisin in the Sun

  • To Sir, with Love

    To Sir, with Love

  • Sepia Cinderella

    Sepia Cinderella

  • They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

    They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

  • Go Man Go

    Go Man Go

  • The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

    The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

  • The Defiant Ones

    The Defiant Ones

  • A Patch of Blue

    A Patch of Blue

  • Lilies of the Field

    Lilies of the Field

  • Band of Angels

    Band of Angels

  • To Sir, with Love II

    To Sir, with Love II

  • The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

    The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

  • The Bedford Incident

    The Bedford Incident

  • Something of Value

    Something of Value

  • All the Young Men

    All the Young Men

  • Cry, the Beloved Country

    Cry, the Beloved Country

  • Children of the Dust

    Children of the Dust

  • Sing Your Song

    Sing Your Song

  • Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley

    Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley

  • The Red Ball Express

    The Red Ball Express

  • The Wilby Conspiracy

    The Wilby Conspiracy

  • Edge of the City

    Edge of the City

  • Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart

    Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart

  • Blackboard Jungle

    Blackboard Jungle

  • The Lost Man

    The Lost Man

  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

    King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

  • David and Lisa

    David and Lisa

  • Let's Do It Again

    Let's Do It Again

  • Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback

    Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback

  • Porgy and Bess

    Porgy and Bess

  • Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night

    Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night

  • Mandela and de Klerk

    Mandela and de Klerk

  • Shoot to Kill

    Shoot to Kill

  • Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

    Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

  • Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project

    Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project

  • Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick

    Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick

  • The Slender Thread

    The Slender Thread

  • A Cinderella Named Elizabeth

    A Cinderella Named Elizabeth

  • Buck and the Preacher

    Buck and the Preacher

  • For Love of Ivy

    For Love of Ivy

  • Mr. SOUL!

    Mr. SOUL!

  • Separate But Equal

    Separate But Equal

  • A Man Is Ten Feet Tall

    A Man Is Ten Feet Tall

  • Sidney Poitier - Der Mann, der Hollywood veränderte

    Sidney Poitier - Der Mann, der Hollywood veränderte

  • I Love Quincy

    I Love Quincy

  • Good-bye, My Lady

    Good-bye, My Lady

  • The Long Ships

    The Long Ships

  • A Warm December

    A Warm December

  • Quincy Jones: In the Pocket

    Quincy Jones: In the Pocket

  • A Piece of the Action

    A Piece of the Action

  • Free of Eden

    Free of Eden

  • Separate but Equal

    Separate but Equal

  • The Making of ‘Sneakers’

    The Making of ‘Sneakers’

  • Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist

    Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist

  • Kraft Television Theatre

    Kraft Television Theatre

  • Poitier's Walter Lee

    Poitier's Walter Lee

  • The Madding Crowd

    The Madding Crowd

  • Pressure Point

    Pressure Point

  • Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist

    Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist

  • Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters

    Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters

  • Night of 100 Stars II

    Night of 100 Stars II

  • Uptown Saturday Night

    Uptown Saturday Night

  • The Strolling '20s

    The Strolling '20s

  • Afro Promo

    Afro Promo

  • Three Young Americans in Search of Survival

    Three Young Americans in Search of Survival