Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (born February 20, 1927) is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. In 1963, 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 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. Poitier has directed a number of popular movies such as A Piece of the Action; Uptown Saturday Night, and Let's Do It Again (with friend Bill Cosby), and Stir Crazy (starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). In 2002, 38 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 America's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Movie | AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special | Self (archive footage) | 2023-12-30 |
Movie | Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback | Self (archive footage) | 2023-07-30 |
Movie | Denzel Washington - Un modèle américain | Self (archive footage) | 2022-10-15 |
Movie | Sidney | Self | 2022-09-10 |
Movie | Mr. SOUL! | Self (archival footage) | 2018-04-27 |
Movie | Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart | Self | 2017-10-14 |
Movie | I Am Not Your Negro | Various Roles (archive footage) | 2017-02-03 |
Movie | The Madding Crowd | Self (archive footage) | 2017-02-01 |
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
Movie | Moms Mabley | Self | 2013-04-20 |
Movie | Sing Your Song | Self | 2012-01-13 |
Movie | Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Self | 2007-10-13 |
Movie | Hollywood Legenden | Self | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | The Last Brickmaker in America | Henry Cobb | 2001-09-23 |
Movie | The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | Noah Dearborn | 1999-05-09 |
Movie | Free of Eden | Will Cleamons | 1999-02-21 |
Movie | David and Lisa | Dr. Jack Miller | 1998-11-01 |
Movie | Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist | Reverend Msimangu (archive footage) | 1998-01-01 |
Movie | Afro Promo | Self (archive footage) | 1997-01-31 |
Movie | The Jackal | Carter Preston | 1997-11-14 |
Movie | Mandela and de Klerk | Nelson Mandela | 1997-02-16 |
Movie | To Sir, With Love II | Mark Thackeray | 1996-04-07 |
Series | Children of the Dust | Gypsy Smith | 1995-02-26 |
Movie | Sneakers | Crease | 1992-09-09 |
Movie | Separate But Equal | Thurgood Marshall | 1991-04-07 |
Movie | Little Nikita | Roy Parmenter | 1988-03-17 |
Movie | Shoot to Kill | Warren Stantin | 1988-02-12 |
Movie | Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night | Self - Audience Member | 1988-01-03 |
Movie | The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | Self | 1986-03-09 |
Movie | Night of 100 Stars II | Self | 1985-03-10 |
Movie | I Love Quincy | Self | 1984-03-23 |
Series | The Kennedy Center Honors | Unknown | 1978-12-28 |
Movie | A Piece of the Action | Manny Durrell | 1977-10-07 |
Movie | Let's Do It Again | Clyde Williams | 1975-10-11 |
Movie | The Wilby Conspiracy | Shack Twala | 1975-02-01 |
Movie | Uptown Saturday Night | Steve Jackson | 1974-07-26 |
Movie | A Warm December | Dr. Matt Younger | 1973-05-23 |
Movie | Buck and the Preacher | Buck | 1972-03-17 |
Movie | The Organization | Virgil Tibbs | 1971-10-20 |
Movie | Brother John | John Kane | 1971-08-15 |
Movie | They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | Virgil Tibbs | 1970-07-10 |
Movie | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis | Self (archive footage) | 1970-03-24 |
Movie | The Lost Man | Jason Higgs | 1969-07-11 |
Movie | Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed | 1968-08-31 | |
Movie | For Love of Ivy | Jack Parks | 1968-07-17 |
Movie | To Sir, with Love | Mark Thackeray | 1967-06-14 |
Movie | In the Heat of the Night | Virgil Tibbs | 1967-08-02 |
Movie | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | John Prentice | 1967-12-11 |
Movie | Duel at Diablo | Toller | 1966-06-15 |
Movie | The Strolling '20s | Self | 1966-02-04 |
Movie | The Slender Thread | Alan Newell | 1965-12-15 |
Movie | A Patch of Blue | Gordon Ralfe | 1965-12-10 |
Movie | The Bedford Incident | Ben Munceford | 1965-10-11 |
Movie | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Simon of Cyrene | 1965-04-09 |
Movie | The Long Ships | Aly Mansuh | 1964-04-22 |
Movie | Lilies of the Field | Homer Smith | 1963-06-04 |
Movie | Pressure Point | Doctor | 1962-10-10 |
Movie | A Raisin in the Sun | Walter Lee Younger | 1961-05-28 |
Movie | Paris Blues | Eddie Cook | 1961-09-27 |
Movie | All the Young Men | Sgt. Eddie Towler | 1960-08-26 |
Movie | Virgin Island | Marcus | 1959-08-07 |
Movie | Porgy and Bess | Porgy | 1959-06-24 |
Movie | The Defiant Ones | Noah Cullen | 1958-08-14 |
Movie | Something of Value | Kimani Wa Karanja | 1957-05-08 |
Movie | Edge of the City | Tommy Tyler | 1957-01-04 |
Movie | Band of Angels | Rau-Ru | 1957-08-03 |
Movie | The Mark of the Hawk | Obam | 1957-12-01 |
Movie | Good-bye, My Lady | Gates Watson | 1956-05-12 |
Movie | A Man Is Ten Feet Tall | Tommy Tyler | 1955-10-02 |
Movie | Blackboard Jungle | Gregory W. Miller | 1955-03-25 |
Movie | Go Man Go | Inman Jackson | 1954-01-27 |
Series | The Oscars | Sidney Poitier | 1953-03-19 |
Movie | The Red Ball Express | Robertson | 1952-05-29 |
Movie | Cry, the Beloved Country | Reverend Msimangu | 1951-11-16 |
Movie | No Way Out | Dr. Luther Brooks | 1950-08-16 |