Happy Birthday Sidney Poitier

“I lived in a country where I couldn't live where I wanted to live. I lived in a country where I couldn't go where I wanted to eat. I lived in a country where I couldn't get a job, except for those put aside for people of my colour or caste” - Sidney Poitier

(Sidney Poitier)

Sir Sidney Poitier was born February 20th 1927 in Cat Island, Bahamas. Poitier was born 2 months premature and was not expected to survive. At age 15 Poitier was sent to Miami, FL to live with his brother. At 17 he moved to New York City, NY. He later joined the US Army. Poitier later joined the American Negro Theatre. Determined to refine his acting skills and get rid of his Bahamian accent he spent the next six months dedicating himself to achieving theatrical success. On his second attempt at the theater, he was noticed and given a leading role in the Broadway production Lysistrata. At the end of 1949, Poitier had to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the film No Way Out (1950). He chose the film. His performance in No Way Out (1950), as a doctor treating a Caucasian bigot, was noticed and led to more roles.

(Poitier in No Way Out (1950))

Poitier's breakout role was as a member of an incorrigible high school class in Blackboard Jungle (1955). Poitier was the first male actor of African descent to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award for the film The Defiant Ones (1958). He acted in the first production of A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway in 1959, and later starred in the film version released in 1961.

(Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun (1961))

He was also the first actor of African descent to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Lilies of the Field (1963).

(Poitier holding his Oscar)

He also gave memorable performances in The Bedford Incident (1965), and A Patch of Blue (1965). In 1967, he was the most successful draw at the box office, with three popular films, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); To Sir, with Love (1967) and In the Heat of the Night (1967). Poitier began to be criticized for being typecast as over-idealized African American characters who were not permitted to have any sexuality or personality faults, such as his character in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967).

(Poitier (Left) in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967))

Poitier knew of this but he wanted to challenge old stereotypes that Black actors before him had to play in film. Poitier was also involved with the Civil Rights movement.

(Poitier at the March on Washington)

His feature film directorial debut was the film, Buck and the Preacher (1972), in which Poitier also starred, alongside singer Harry Belafonte. The trio of Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, and Harry Belafonte came together with Poitier  directing, the film, Uptown Saturday Night (1974).

(Bill Cosby (Left) and Sidney Poitier (Right) in Uptown Saturday Night (1974))

He directed Bill Cosby in the films Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), and Ghost Dad (1990). The most successful of Poitier’s films that he directed is the Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy (1980), which for many years was the highest grossing film directed by a person of African descent. From 1995 to 2003 Poitier served as a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company.In April 1997, Poitier was appointed ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan, this position he held until 2007.  In 2001, Poitier received an Honorary Academy Award for his overall contribution to American cinema. In 2009 Poitier received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

(Poitier (Left) with President Obama (Right))

In March 2014, he swore in the new mayor of Beverly Hills, California, Lili Bosse, in a ceremony at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

(Poitier in 2012)

Today he turns 89 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Sidney Poitier.

Movies Sidney Poitier is featured in

• Sepia Cinderella (1947) as an extra
• No Way Out (1950) as Dr. Luther Brooks
• Cry, The Beloved Country (1951) as Rev. Msimangu
• Red Ball Express (1952) as Cpl. Andrew Robertson
• Go, Man, Go! (1954) as Inman Jackson
• Blackboard Jungle (1955) as Gregory W. Miller
• Good-Bye My Lady (1956) as Gates Watson
• Edge of the City (1957) as Tommy Tyler
• Something of Value (1957) as Kimani Wa Karanja
• Band of Angels (1957) as Rau-Ru Ponce de Leon
• The Mark of the Hawk (1957) as Obam
• Virgin Island (1958) as Marcus
• The Defiant Ones (1958) as Noah Cullen
• Porgy and Bess (1959) as Porgy
• All the Young Men (1960) as Sgt. Eddie Towler
• A Raisin in the Sun (1961) as Walter Lee Younger
• Paris Blues (1961) as Eddie Cook
• Pressure Point (1962) as Doctor
• The Long Ships (1963) as Aly Mansuh
• Lilies of the Field (1963) as Homer Smith
• The Bedford Incident (1965) as Ben Munceford
• The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) as Simon of Cyrene
• A Patch of Blue (1965) as Gordon Ralfe
• The Slender Thread (1965) as Alan Newell
• Duel at Diablo (1966) as Toller
• To Sir, With Love (1967) as Mark Thackeray
• In the Heat of the Night (1967) as Det. Virgil Tibbs
• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) as Dr. John Wade Prentice
• For Love of Ivy (1968) as Jack Parks
• The Lost Man (1969) as Jason Higgs
• They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) as Lt. Virgil Tibbs
• Brother John (1971) as John Kane
• The Organization (1971) as Lt. Virgil Tibbs
• Buck and the Preacher (1972) as Buck
• A Warm December (1973) as Matt Younger
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974) as Steve Jackson
• The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) as Shack Twala
• Let’s Do It Again (1975) as Clyde Williams
• A Piece of the Action (1977) as Manny Durrell
• Shoot to Kill (1988) as Warren Stantin
• Little Nikita (1988) as Roy Parmenter
• Sneakers (1992) as Donald Crease
• To Sir, With Love II (1996) as Mark Thackeray
• The Jackal (1997) as FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston