Sidney Poitier, the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor and first Black movie star, was born on this day in 1927, in the U.S. while his parents were visiting from the Bahamas. Born into poverty, his habit of skipping school got him sent to Miami to live with his brother at age 15.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II for a short time, Poitier applied to the American Negro Theatre, a New York City-based group of Black theater writers inspired to write for the Black community. He was initially refused because of his Academy Award but was later accepted after taking speech classes.
He won his Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field, where he played a handyman who helps a group of nuns rebuild their lives after fleeing communism. In addition to being the first Black man to win an Oscar, he was also the second Black actor to win an Oscar.
He directed his first film in 1972 with Buck and the Preacher, which he costarred in with Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee. His 1974 comedy Uptown Saturday Night was a smash hit. He would go on to direct movies starring Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, and other celebrities. His last directorial effort was 1990’s Ghost Dad.
Poitier took a break from acting for over a decade, returning to appear in the action thrillers Shoot to Kill and Little Nikita in 1988. He passed away in 2022.
To learn more about Poitier, check out his entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
