The world is mourning another huge loss in Hollywood royalty. Sidney Poitier, the first black and Bahamian man to win an Oscar, has passed away. He was 94-years-old. Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis made the announcement this morning, honoring Poiter as a civil rights activist, humanitarian, and more.
“My dear friends, it is with great sadness that I learned this morning of the passing of Sir. Sidney Poitier,” Davis shared. “The boy who moved from the tomato farm on Cat Island, to moving and becoming a waiter in the United States, a young man who not only taught himself to read and write but who made words and thoughts and feelings central to his career. The man who expressed his rage against racial injustice through quiet dignity. The humanitarian, who used a steely determination, to not just better himself, but better the world he lived in.”
The Bahamian-bred actor moved to New York City at 16-years-old with his sights set on acting. While working as a janitor at the American Negro Theater, a passionate Poitier exchanged his duties for free acting classes which paid off after making his film debut in No Way Out in (1950), followed by Blackboard Jungle in 1955. He would later land leading roles in films such as the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award-winning The Defiant Ones (1958), which earned him nine Oscar nominations. However, it wasn’t until he starred in Lilies of the Field (1963) that he won his first Oscar and broke the record as the first black man to receive the honor as Best Actor in that category. Some of his other significant works—which were mostly centered around racial injustice, donning him a cinematic civil rights activist—include Porgy and Bess (1959), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love, all in 1967, along with many, many more.
Oprah Winfrey, Jeffrey Wright, Kathy Griffin, Barack Obama, Viola Davis, and more took to social media to pay homage to the fallen barrier-breaking icon.
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Sidney Poitier 🕊 pic.twitter.com/otVjSFHaw8
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 7, 2022
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This is a big one. No words can describe how your work radically shifted my life. The dignity, normalcy, strength, excellence and sheer electricity you brought to your roles showed us that we, as Black folks, mattered!!! It was an honor… https://t.co/xaPAjAlRtR pic.twitter.com/aqOmRqq7SN
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) January 7, 2022
Former @disney board member Sidney Poitier was the most dignified man I’ve ever met. Towering…gentle…passionate…bold…kind…altogether special. pic.twitter.com/1ccPjqabkz
— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) January 7, 2022
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Sidney Poitier. What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love.
(📷Sam Falk/NYT) pic.twitter.com/5ZaKxxPdxw
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) January 7, 2022
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If you wanted the sky i would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high..
To Sir… with Love
Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P.
He showed us how to reach for the stars— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) January 7, 2022
Sidney Poitier leaves behind his wife of almost 46 years, Joanna Shimkus, six children including actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and a host of dear family members and friends. We’re sending our warmest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Sidney Poitier, and may his legacy live in our hearts forever.
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