Sidney Poitier, legendary actor and activist, passed away at the age of 94 surrounded by family in the Bahamas on Thursday. The Poitier family confirmed his death via a statement released on Friday.
Statement from the Poitier family:
“There are no words to convey the deep sense of loss and sadness we are feeling right now. We are so grateful he was able to spend his last day surrounded by his family and friends. To us Sidney Poitier was not only a brilliant actor, activist, and a man of incredible grace and moral fortitude, he was also a devoted and loving husband, a supportive and adoring father, and a man who always put family first. He is our guiding light who lit up our lives with infinite love and wonder. His smile was healing, his hugs the warmest refuge, and his laughter was infectious.
We could always turn to him for wisdom and solace and his absence feels like a giant hole in our family and our hearts. Although he is no longer here with us in this realm, his beautiful soul will continue to guide and inspire us. He will live on in us, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren—in every belly laugh, every curious inquiry, every act of compassion and kindness. His legacy will live on in the world, continuing to inspire not only with his incredible body of work, but even more so with his humanity.
We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to every single one of you for the outpouring of love from around the world. So many have been touched by our dad’s extraordinary life, his unwavering sense of decency and respect for his fellow man. His faith in humanity never faltered, so know that for all the love you’ve shown him, he loved you back.“
The former understudy of activist and actor Harry Belafonte, Poitier broke into acting through Broadway. He would then make his way into film as an extra before landing a lead role as Dr. Luther Brooks on the Joseph L. Mankiewicz film No Way Out in 1950. Seeing that opportunities were limited for Black actors and usually subjected them to stereotypical roles, Poitier made the conscious decision to pick roles that elevated the media projection of Black people.
Poitier often carried the burden of representing the entire Black community as the only Black leading man during the 1950s. In turn, he would strive to make sure his characters were authentic to the Black experience — although, there were some that argued his roles were anything but representative of the Black demographic.
Despite this criticism, Poitier would often wield his power in Hollywood to change how Black people were perceived in film and television. One particular event involved the infamous slap that took place on TV series In the Heat of the Night, where his character Tibbs returns a slap back to a white man.
His extensive portfolio had incredible range as he starred in classics such as, The Defiant Ones, Porgy and Bess, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies of the Field, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, to name a few. The Bahamas born actor from meager means made a way for himself and 14 years into his acting career became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964. He won the Oscar for his role in the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
In 2002, Denzel Washington, who would an Oscar for the same title decades after Poitier’s win, presented Poitier with an honorary award for his “extraordinary performance and unique presence on the screen, and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence,” as it was written on the Oscar.
Over the span of his 70-year career, Poitier has been nominated 41 times and won a total of 28 awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes (1982), Best Spoken Word Album at the Grammys (2001), NAACP Hall of Fame (2001), the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award (2000), the Kennedy Center Honors (1995), and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1994).
Rest in peace to a trailblazer…
