They called him “Mr. Tibbs” but the world knew him as Sidney Poitier.
Entertainment
Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world for actor Sidney Poitier, who passed away on Thursday night. He was revered for being an acting legend and a trailblazer, after becoming the first Black performer to win the best actor Academy Award for the film “Lilies of the Field.”
.
His body of work included such films as “To Sir With Love,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” which established him as Hollywood’s first Black matinee idol and helped open the door for Denzel Washington, Wil Smith, and other Black actors in the film industry.
At the height of his career, Sidney Poitier was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood and a top box-office draw, ranking 5th among male actors in Box Office magazine’s poll of theater owners and critics. In fact, only Richard Burton, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, and John Wayne were ahead of him at the box office. Yet, despite his good looks, racial inequality in the midst of the civil rights movement prevented Hollywood from casting him as a romantic lead.
“To think of the American Negro male in romantic social-sexual circumstances is difficult, you know,” Poitier once told an interviewer. “And the reasons why are legion and too many to go into.”
.
Through his groundbreaking roles and singular talent, Sidney Poitier epitomized dignity and grace, revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together. He also opened doors for a generation of actors. Michelle and I send our love to his family and legion of fans. pic.twitter.com/zkYKFSxfKA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 7, 2022
In 1967 Sidney Poitier appeared in 3 of Hollywood’s best-grossing films, elevating him to the peak of his stardom. In “In the Heat of Night,” Poitier played Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs charged with investigating a Mississippi murder. (In this film was the memorable line where the detective insisted on the sheriff’s respect by declaring, “They call me Mr. Tibbs!”). In “To Sir, With Love,” Poitier was a concerned teacher inside a tough London high school. In “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Poitier played a Black doctor who was going to marry a white woman and went to dinner to break the racial thinking of his in-laws, played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
Other film credits include “The Defiant Ones,” “Buck And The Preacher,” “A Patch of Blue,” and “A Raisin In The Sun,” among many more.
.
Sidney Poitier 🕊 pic.twitter.com/otVjSFHaw8
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 7, 2022
In 2009, President Barack Obama, citing his “relentless devotion to breaking down barriers,” awarded Mr. Poitier the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sidney Poitier was 94.
At the height of his career, Sidney Poitier was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood and a top box-office draw, ranking 5th among male actors in Box Office magazine’s poll of theater owners and critics. In fact, only Richard Burton, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, and John Wayne were ahead of him at the box office. […] -DJ
That right there truly says something about his incredible talent!
He was a particular favorite of my grandparents and parents…as an actor (“a Class act”) and a Gentleman.
May he Rest in Peace.