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Sidney Poitier: A Man Who Broke Through Hollywood’s Barriers
By Lisa Arnold
Sidney Poitier is one of the first African American actors to be offered serious dramatic roles. It is believed that Pointier was instrumental in getting Hollywood to offer more serious roles to African American actors. He is also known as being Hollywood’s first
African American superstar.
He was born on February 20, 1927 in Miami, Florida and was raised in the Bahamas on his family's tomato farm. Sidney often reflects on the great sense of pride his father had despite him being a man of little means. Every time Poitier took a role, he reminded himself that he must play his role with dignity. When Poitier was eleven, he and his family moved from his tiny village to the capitol of The Bahamas. It was there that Poitier became fascinated with the cinema.
Poitier had little formal education and often flirted with delinquency. When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to Miami to live with his older brother. They hoped this would help keep him from getting into further trouble. It was in the US that Sidney first experienced racism. It was shocking to him, instilled within him determination, and will to find and create opportunities for African Americans.
At age 18, he moved to New York where he worked hard at menial jobs. After a brief stint in the Army, Poitier auditioned at the
American Negro Theatre on an impulse. He was rejected so vehemently that he dedicated the next several months to overcoming his accent and improving his acting skills. On his second try, he was accepted.
He was given a small part in a Broadway production of "Lysistrata" He received excellent reviews. Poitier was soon faced with having to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work in the
1950 film No Way Out. Poitier’s powerful performance in this movie got him noticed and led to more roles. The roles he was being offered were considerably more interesting and prominent than most African American actors of the time were being offered.
Poitier made many memorable movies. His breakout role was the classic 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. Seven years later, after turning down several movie roles he considered sub-standard, Poitier performed in movies, which catapulted him into super stardom. Those films include
Edge of the City in 1957 and The Defiant One in 1958, which gave Poitier his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 1959, Poitier returned to Broadway to star in Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking
"A Raisin in the Sun." The performance of Walter Lee Younger is widely considered to be his most poignant role. He would reprise his role in the film version two years later. His performance in the film was powerfully engaging. This was the beginning of a string of solid performances. In 1963, he starred in
Lilies of The Field. He was the first African American actor to win for Best
Actor. In 1965, he starred in the well-received movies, A Patch of Blue and
The Bedford Incident.
In 1967, 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.
These were landmark films because they broke down social barriers. In the Heat of the Night is considered Poitier’s most memorable film among fans and critics alike.
Sidney Poitier, one of the most respected and beloved actors in American cinema, is a talented and forceful performer with a host of riveting films, which will forever classify him as a bonafide superstar who broke through the barriers of Hollywood.
more articles by Lisa Arnold
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