#SIDNEYPOITIER #LEADER #ROLEMODEL #BLACKHISTORY #FIRSTBLACKOSCAR #HISTORY #CARRIBEANSTAR #BARRIERBREAKER #BRIDGE #VISIONARY #SOCIALACTIVIST #CIVILRIGHTS #HUMANATARIAN #WRITER #SIDNEYPOINTERAMBASSADOR #BAHANMASACTOR #FIRSTCAST #INTERNATIOANLSTAR #WRITER SIDNEY POITIER (Bahamian-American actor, film director, author, and Ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan. And He is also the Ambassador of the Bahamas to UNESCO) Sidney Poitiers parents were Evelyn and Reginald James Poitier, Bahamian farmers who owned a farm on Cat Island and traveled to Miami in the United States to sell tomatoes and other produce. Reginald worked as a cab driver in Nassau, Bahamas. Poitier was born in Miami while his parents were visiting. His birth was two months premature and he was not expected to survive, but his parents remained three months in Miami to nurse him to health. Poitier grew up in the Bahamas but because of his birth in the U.S., he automatically gained U.S. citizenship. Poitier lived with his family on Cat Island until he was ten, when they moved to Nassau, Bahamas. At the age of 15 he was sent to Miami to live with his brother. He had the passion to be an actor and at the age of 17, he moved to New York City and held a string of jobs as a dishwasher. He then decided to join the United States Army after which he worked as a dishwasher until a successful audition landed him a spot with the American Negro Theatre. He joined the Theater, but was rejected by audiences. Contrary to what was expected of black actors at the time, Poitiers tone deafness made him unable to sing. Determined to refine his acting skills and rid himself of his noticeable Bahamian accent, he spent the next six months dedicating himself to achieving theatrical success. On his second attempt at the theater, he was noticed and given a leading role in the Broadway production Lysistrata, for which he received good reviews. By the end of 1949, he had to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the 1950 film No Way Out . His performance in No Way Out, as a doctor, was noticed and led to more roles, each considerably more interesting and more prominent than those most black actors of the time were offered. Poitiers breakout role was as a member of an incorrigible high school class in the 1955 film Blackboard Jung. In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three successful films, all of which dealt with issues involving race which mainly related in the majority of his acting career, 1959 A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway, and later starred in the film version released in 1961. He also gave memorable performances in the 1965 film The Bedford Incident, and A Patch of Blue, To Sir, with Love , In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, 1970 They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!, and the 1971 film The Organization1971 making him the top box-office star of that year. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 22nd on the list of 25. Poitier has directed a number of popular movies, such as A Piece of the Action Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again, Stir Crazy and Ghost Dad. In 2002, thirty-eight years after receiving the Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive an Honorary Award, designated To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being. Since 1997, he has been the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. On August 12, 2009, Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of Americas highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama. Sidney Poitier was married twice. His first wife Juanita Hardy from April 29, 1950, until 1965. He has been married to Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian-born former actress of Lithuanian and Irish descent, since January 23, 1976. He has four daughters with his first wife and two with his second: Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, Gina, Anika, and Sydney Tamiia Sidney Poitier has written three autobiographical books: This Life (1980),The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography in 2000,Life Beyond Measure – letters to my Great-Granddaughter Poitier is also the subject of the biography Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon in 2004 by historian Aram Goudsouzian. Poitier wrote the novel Montaro Caine, released in May 2013. Movies about Poitier: Sidney Poitier, an Outsider in Hollywood (Sidney Poitier, an outsider à Hollywood). Documentary film by Catherine Arnaud. Arte, France, 2008, 70 minutes. Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light. American Masters, PBS. USA, in 2000. 60 minutes. Sidney Poiter List of Awards. 1958 British Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Actor for The Defiant Ones 1958 Silver Bear for Best Actor Berlin Film Festival for The Defiant Ones 1963 Academy Award Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lilies of the Field 1963 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Lilies of the Field 1963 Silver Bear for Best Actor Berlin Film Festival for Lilies of the Field 1974 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) 1982 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award 1992 AFI Life Achievement Award 1995 Kennedy Center Honors 1997 Appointed non-resident Bahamian Ambassador to Japan 1999 SAG Life Achievement Award 2000 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn 2001 NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award 2001 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – Rick Harris, John Runnette (producers) and Sidney Poitier for The Measure of a Man 2002 Honorary Oscar – For his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom 2011 Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute honoring his life and careers AND MANY MORE miempowerment NS.................................................................
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 06:11:06 +0000
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