BLACK ACTOR DIES TODAY MOVIE
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When he re-applied, he was accepted into the company and, in 1946, he made his Broadway debut in “Lysistrata.” He applied to the American Negro Theatre, but he was rejected because of his accent, so he spent the next several months practicing American enunciation. He eventually made his way to New York City and discovered a passion for the performing arts. Army and briefly served in a medical unit. The teenage Poitier returned to the U.S., where he enlisted in the U.S. He grew up in the Bahamas, spending his early years around his father’s tomato farm on Cat Island before the family relocated to Nassau. 20, 1927, in Miami, to Bahamian parents while they were on vacation in the United States. Michelle and I send our love to his family and legion of fans.' 'He also opened doors for a generation of actors. 'Through his groundbreaking roles and singular talent, Sidney Poitier epitomized dignity and grace, revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together,' Obama said in an Instagram post. In the course of his public life, Poitier was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, two Golden Globe awards (including a lifetime achievement honor in 1982), and a Grammy for narrating his autobiography, “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography,” published in 2000. 'There's nothing I would rather do, sir.' I'll always be following in your footsteps,' Washington said in his Oscars acceptance speech. He won the best actor Oscar in 1964 for his depiction of an ex-serviceman who helps East German nuns build a chapel in “Lilies of the Field.” The first Black man to win that honor, he remained the only one until Denzel Washington in 2002 - the same year Poitier received an honorary Oscar “in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human.”

BLACK ACTOR DIES TODAY MOVIE

“I felt very much as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made,” Poitier once wrote about the experience of being the only Black person on a movie set. He came to be seen as an elder statesmen in the film industry, celebrated for his social conscience and admired for his regal bearing. He said he felt a responsibility to represent Black excellence at a time when the vast majority of movie stars were white and many Black performers were relegated to subservient or buffoonish roles.

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Poitier, who rejected film roles based on offensive racial stereotypes, earned acclaim for portraying dignified, keenly intelligent men in 1960s landmarks such as “Lilies of the Field,” “A Patch of Blue,” “To Sir, With Love,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” He made history as the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor and, at the height of his fame, he became a major box-office draw.

In a groundbreaking film career that spanned decades, Poitier established himself as one of the finest performers in America. 'Sir Sidney’s light will continue to shine brightly for generations to come,' said Philip Davis, the prime minister of the Bahamas, where Poitier grew up.

Black actor dies today