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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.
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Fast Facts
- Born: February 20, 1927
- Birthplace: Miami, Florida
- 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
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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. -
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Related Mahalo Pages
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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The Mahalo Top 7
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IMDb: Sidney Poitier Filmography
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Wikipedia: Sidney Poitier
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Fathom: "A Dialogue with Sidney Poitier"
fathom.com -
TCM: Sidney Poitier Biography and Filmography
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PBS: American Masters-Sidney Poitier
pbs.org -
BBC: 1964: Poitier Breaks New Ground with Oscar Win
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Kennedy-Center.org: Sidney Poitier
kennedy-center.org
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IMDb: Sidney Poitier Filmography
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Sidney Poitier on Twitter Powered by Twitter
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@KenzoShibata yes, I did know that Sidney Poitier was responsible for the greatest paranormal movie ever.
@michaelmorelli | November 12, 2009 03:27 AM -
@michaelmorelli You wouldn't say that if you were a ghost.....BTW, did you know that Ghost Dad was a Sidney Poitier film?
@KenzoShibata | November 12, 2009 03:11 AM -
Acabando de ver "Meu mestre, minha vida" com Sidney Poitier.
@marcelocaetano | November 12, 2009 02:26 AM -
is reading Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaug... by Sidney Poitier - http://bit.ly/lMelQ
@Erikka3 | November 12, 2009 02:12 AM -
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Sidney Poitier on Amazon | View All
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To Sir, with Love [VHS] - $14.95
Novelist James Clavell wrote, produced, and directed this 1967 British film (based on a novel by E.R. Braithwaite) about a rookie teacher who throws out stock lesson plans and really takes command of his unruly, adolescent students in a Lon...
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The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club) - $14.95
"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I’ve suddenly come up with the answers to all life’s questions. Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted...
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The Sidney Poitier Collection (Edge of the City / Something of Value / A Patch of Blue / A Warm December) - $39.98
Edge of the City: Two New York City longshoremen Axel Nordmann (John Cassavetes), an Army deserter and Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier), an easy-going freight car loader who's growing friendship is threatened by Charles Malik (Jack Warden), a n...
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I Am Not Sidney Poitier: A Novel - $16.00
An irresistible comic novel from the master storyteller Percival Everett, and an irreverent take on race, class, and identity in AmericaI was, in life, to be a gambler, a risk-taker, a swashbuckler, a...
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A Piece of the Action / Uptown Saturday Night - $14.98
The ideal comedy for any night is Uptown Saturday Night, a breezy joy pairing Sidney Poitier (who also directs) and Bill Cosby as pals out to recover a stolen wallet and the winning lottery ticket it holds. Henry Belafonte, Richard Pryor an...
Amazon
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Ask a Question about Sidney Poitier 140 characters
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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
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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
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