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Sidney Poitier Bio
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Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier was born on February 20, 1927 in the waters near Miami, Florida. His parents lived in the Bahamas on Cat Island where they worked as farmers and frequently traveled to Miami to sell tomatoes and other produce. Poitier was born prematurely on the boat ride over to Miami. He was a sickly baby and his parents would take one of the drawers of their bedroom dresser with them whenever they traveled to Miami, which was to be used as his coffin in case he died en route.
Sidney’s early years were spent in poverty in the tiny community on Cat Island with a population of just 1,500 people and no electricity. His parents could not afford to take care of him as a teenager, so they sent him to live with relatives in Nassau where he was also required to find a job. Then his parents sent the 16-year old Sidney to live with his older brother in Miami. At the age of 18, Poitier moved to New York City where he briefly served in the U.S. Army.
After a string of low-paying jobs, Poitier decided to focus on acting. In the beginning he was rejected by audiences and directors, but Poitier continued to work on honing his acting skills, as well as getting rid of his Bahamian accent. Within six months he was given a lead role in the Broadway play, Lysistrata, where he received rave reviews.
By 1950, Poitier was offered to make his film debut in No Way Out, which got him noticed in the film community and earned him more interesting roles than most black actors were offered during that time. Most consider his breakout role to be as a high school student in the film Blackboard Jungle (1955); at the time he was 22 years old, but lied to the director telling him that he was 27 in order to get the part. Sidney was the first actor of African descent to win an Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to his role in Lilies of the Field (1963).
In 1950, Poitier married Juanita Hardy. The couple had four children together before divorcing in 1965. He then married the Canadian actress, Joanna Shimkus in 1976. They have two children together. Their older daughter, Sydney Tamiia Poitier has also become an actress.
Some of Sidney’s most memorable films include: The Defiant Ones (1958) opposite Tony Curtis, The Bedford Incident (1965), In the Heat of the Night (1967), They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) and The Organization (1971).
Poitier made his directorial debut in the film Buck and the Preacher, after the original director backed out of the film. He also starred in it. Additionally, he directed the huge hit comedy Stir Crazy (1980), which starred Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. Other films he has directed include: Uptown Saturday Night (1974) in which he also stars, alongside Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte; Let’s Do it Again (1975) also with Bill Cosby, and Ghost Dad (1990), once again with Bill Cosby.
Sidney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, though he chooses not to use his title “sir.” Poitier has served as the non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan since 1997. He remains involved with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO). To date, he has written two autobiographies: This Life (1980) and The Measure of a Man: a Spiritual Autobiography (2000). Today he also sits on the USC School of Cinema-Television’s Board of Councilors and is a member of the board of directors for The Walt Disney Company. |
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Sidney Poitier - Starred in 'Pressure Point' with Bobby Darin .
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Sidney Poitier - Starred in 'The Defiant Ones' with Tony Curtis .
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Sidney Poitier - Directed 'Stir Crazy' which starred Richard Pryor .
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Yuddy top celebrities
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