Sir Sidney Poitier,
KBE ( or ; born February 20, 1924)
[www.archive.org/stream/playeraprofileof002609mbp/playeraprofileof002609mbp_djvu.txt - "I was born on February 20, 1924, in Miami, Florida"] is a
Bahamian-American actor,
film director,
author, and
diplomat. He broke through as a star in acclaimed performances in American films and plays, which, by consciously defying racial stereotyping, gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film audiences in the
Western world.
In 1963, Poitier became the first African American to win an
Academy Award for Best Actor[James Baskett won an Honorary Academy Award for his performance in Walt Disney's Song of the South (1946). It was not a competitive award. See Awards for James Baskett, Internet Movie Database ] for his role in
Lilies of the Field.
[Sidney Poitier Awards, Internet Movie Database] The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in
1967 when he starred in three very well received films—
To Sir, with Love;
In the Heat of the Night; and
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner—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.
