Sidney Poitier
Date of birth: 1927-02-20
Place of birth: Miami, Florida, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Sir Sidney Poitier, Сидней Пуатье, シドニー・ポワティエ
Biography
Sidney Poitier KBE (February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he became the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for Lilies of the Field. Other accolades include two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA), and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Major films featuring Poitier in a starring role include Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Defiant Ones (1958), To Sir, with Love (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Sneakers (1992), and The Jackal (1997). Later in his career, he turned to directing with features such as Buck and the Preacher (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Stir Crazy (1980), and Ghost Dad (1990). At the time of his death, Poitier was one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
Movie Credits
Duel at Diablo
1966-06-15
In Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the kill
Sneakers
1992-09-09
When shadowy U.S. intelligence agents blackmail a reformed computer hacker and his eccentric team of
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967-12-11
A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965-04-09
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is give
Porgy and Bess
1959-06-24
In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home t
In the Heat of the Night
1967-08-02
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bi
Sidney Poitier - Der Mann, der Hollywood veränderte
2023-01-23
The Jackal
1997-11-14
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a
The Defiant Ones
1958-08-14
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
The Wilby Conspiracy
1975-02-01
Having spent 10 years in prison for nationalist activities, Shack Twala is finally ordered released
Shoot to Kill
1988-02-12
When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI ag
Buck and the Preacher
1972-03-17
A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.
Blackboard Jungle
1955-03-25
Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupi
To Sir, with Love
1967-06-14
A British Guianese engineer starts a job as a high school teacher in London’s East End, where his un
A Patch of Blue
1965-12-10
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her esca
Paris Blues
1961-09-27
During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two America
Little Nikita
1988-03-17
An FBI agent works to uncover an all-American family as Soviet sleeper agents, and gets caught up in
Pressure Point
1962-10-10
An African-American prison psychiatrist finds the boundaries of his professionalism sorely tested wh
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
1988-01-03
Recorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and
Hollywood Legenden
2004-01-01
Documentary about Hollywood.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
1970-07-10
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
Edge of the City
1957-01-04
A male army deserter and a black male dock worker join forces against a corrupt manager, in a corrup
No Way Out
1950-08-16
Two hoodlum brothers are brought into a hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one of them dies the o
Uptown Saturday Night
1974-07-26
Two blue-collar buddies search the underworld for a winning lottery ticket lost in a nightclub holdu
Let's Do It Again
1975-10-11
Clyde Williams and Billy Foster are a couple of blue-collar workers in Atlanta who have promised to
A Raisin in the Sun
1961-05-28
Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with
A Piece of the Action
1977-10-07
How does retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) get two career criminals, Manny Durrell (Sidney
Band of Angels
1957-08-03
Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widowed fa
Quincy Jones: In the Pocket
2001-11-18
Composer, record, TV and film producer, arranger, instrumentalist, magazine founder and multi-media
The Long Ships
1964-04-22
Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of
Lilies of the Field
1963-06-04
An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water
The Bedford Incident
1965-10-11
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and
Something of Value
1957-05-08
As Kenya's Mau Mau uprising tears the country apart, former childhood friends Kimani (Sidney Poitier
A Warm December
1973-05-23
Widower Dr. Matt Younger and his daughter go to London for a month of dirt-bike racing. While there,
The Slender Thread
1965-12-15
Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when at the clinic alon
For Love of Ivy
1968-07-17
A white family has had the same Black maid for many years. When she tells them she wants to go back
The Mark of the Hawk
1957-12-01
The man called Obam struggles with the increasingly hostile forces facing each other in a colonial A
Sing Your Song
2012-01-13
Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his sign
The Organization
1971-10-20
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,00
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
1999-05-09
In the small Southern community of Twin Pines, GA, lives Noah Dearborn, a master craftsman and farme
Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
2013-01-01
Documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's March on Washington, a pivota
David and Lisa
1998-11-01
A psychiatrist tries to treat an emotionally disturbed teenage boy who has a pathological fear of be
To Sir, with Love II
1996-04-07
After thirty years teaching in London, Mark Thackeray retires and returns to Chicago. There, however
Brother John
1971-08-15
An enigmatic man returns to his Alabama hometown as his sister is dying of cancer and incites the su
Separate But Equal
1991-04-07
A dramatization of the events of Brown vs. Board of Education, the American court case that destroye
A Cinderella Named Elizabeth
1965-01-01
Describes how Elizabeth Hartman was auditioned and chosen for the part of Selina in "A Patch of Blue
All the Young Men
1960-08-26
During the Korean War, the lieutenant in charge of a Marine rifle platoon is killed in battle. Befor
Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback
2023-07-30
The making of Elvis Presley's famous live TV concert and the chaotic behind the scenes. It was the m
Sidney
2022-09-10
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil ri
The Last Brickmaker in America
2001-09-23
A man must cope with the loss of his wife and the obsolescence of his job before finding redemption
The Red Ball Express
1952-05-29
August 1944: proceeding with the invasion of France, Patton's Third Army has advanced so far toward
The Lost Man
1969-07-11
A gang of black militants plots to rob a factory to finance their "revolutionary struggle."
Free of Eden
1999-02-21
Story about Will Cleamons, a former teacher-turned-businessman who agrees to tutor 18-year-old high
Cry, the Beloved Country
1951-11-16
In the back country of South Africa, black minister Stephen Kumalo journeys to the city to search fo
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
2013-04-20
A feature documentary about Jackie "Moms" Mabley, an African-American stand-up comic and show-biz pi
Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters
2000-06-29
A career overview of film and TV actor Richard Widmark.
I Love Quincy
1984-03-23
Documentary profile of musician and producer Quincy Jones
Mandela and de Klerk
1997-02-16
Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine both received Emmy nominations for their performances in this made-
Virgin Island
1959-08-07
A British woman marries an American writer in spite of her family's disapproval and goes to live wit
A Man Is Ten Feet Tall
1955-10-02
Axel, secretly AWOL from the army, joins a black waterfront worker in his fight against bigotry. Te
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970-03-24
Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. f
Good-bye, My Lady
1956-05-12
An old man and a young boy who live in the southeastern Mississippi swamps are brought together by t
The Making of ‘Sneakers’
2003-06-03
Behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of ‘Sneakers’ (1992).
Night of 100 Stars II
1985-03-10
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
1998-01-01
A look at the confluence of the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and blacklists with the post-war activism by
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
1995-01-01
Documentary exploring the career of noted film directer William A. Wellman.
Afro Promo
1997-01-31
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase o
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
2007-10-13
The documentary consists of tape of Don's show (never been filmed before), interviews with Don's con
The Strolling '20s
1966-02-04
Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier travel down memory lane to see what life was like back in the 192
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
2017-10-14
On March 11, 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s 'A Raisin in the Sun' opened on Broadway and changed the fac
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986-03-09
In this tribute to her frequent co-star and longtime love, Katharine Hepburn hosts a behind-the-scen
Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
1979-10-29
This Academy Award-winning documentary short Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist, narrated by Sidney
Go Man Go
1954-01-27
The story of Abe Saperstein and the creation of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Poitier's Walter Lee
2018-09-25
An interview with film scholar Mia Mask, co-editor of Poitier Revisited.
Nationtime
1972-11-01
A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event
The Madding Crowd
2017-02-01
"A great many conundrums." An assemblage of found footage.
Mr. SOUL!
2018-04-27
On the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, one fearless black pioneer reconceived a Harlem Renaissan
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000-02-02
Actor/director Sidney Poitier discusses his life and career. He tells of his upbringing in Jamaica;
Three Young Americans in Search of Survival
1969-03-10
Story essentially dealt with the dedication of three young Yanks - G, Smith's concern for wilderness
Sepia Cinderella
1947-07-25
A struggling songwriter abandons his girlfriend for a flashy woman after landing a hit.
A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story
2022-11-09
A group of unknowns noticed that a legendary actress had no star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.