Sidney Poitier, who made history by becoming the first black man to win the best actor in Oscar, has died. He died at the age of 94.
His death was confirmed by the office of Bahamas’ Minister of foreign affairs, Fred Mitchell.
Poitier was an innovative actor and a renowned humanitarian and diplomat. In 1963, he won the Academy Award for best actor for Lilies of the Field.
He was born in Miami but he grew up in the US and Bahamas and later became an icon of the stage and screen.
He earned his first Oscar nomination in 1958 when he appeared in The Defiant Ones.
During the time of racial segregation in the United States, he was a regular on the big screen. He appeared in a Patch of Blue in 1965, and then Heat of the Night in 1966. He later appeared in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, playing the role of a black man with a white fiancee.
He directed many films, and a Broadway play about life and career was announced in December 2020.
May his soul rest in peace.
