Sidney Poitier
Acting
Sidney Poitier KBE (February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he became the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for Lilies of the Field. Other accolades include two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA), and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Major films featuring Poitier in a starring role include Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Defiant Ones (1958), To Sir, with Love (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Sneakers (1992), and The Jackal (1997). Later in his career, he turned to directing with features such as Buck and the Preacher (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Stir Crazy (1980), and Ghost Dad (1990). At the time of his death, Poitier was one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
Known for
Acting104
tvHollywood Black
2024
Self (archive footage)
movieRemembering Gene Wilder
2024
Self (archive photos)
movieReinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback
2023
Self (archive footage)
movieSidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood
2023
Self (archive footage)
movieSidney
2022
Self
moviePoitier's Walter Lee
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieMr. SOUL!
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Madding Crowd
2017
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Last Brickmaker in America
2001
Henry Cobb
movieThe Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
1999
Noah Dearborn
movieFree of Eden
1999
Will Cleamons
movieDavid and Lisa
1998
Dr. Jack Miller
movieScandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
1998
Reverend Msimangu (archive footage)
movieThe Jackal
1997
Carter Preston
movieMandela and de Klerk
1997
Nelson Mandela
movieAfro Promo
1997
Self (archive footage)
movieTo Sir, with Love II
1996
Mark Thackeray
tvChildren of the Dust
1995
Gypsy Smith
movieSneakers
1992
Crease
movieSeparate but Equal
1991
Thurgood Marshall
tvSeparate but Equal
1991
Thurgood Marshall
movieLittle Nikita
1988
Roy Parmenter
movieShoot to Kill
1988
Warren Stantin
movieRoy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
1988
Self - Audience Member
moviePaul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
1979
Narrator (voice)
movieA Piece of the Action
1977
Manny Durrell
movieLet's Do It Again
1975
Clyde Williams
movieThe Wilby Conspiracy
1975
Shack Twala
movieUptown Saturday Night
1974
Steve Jackson
movieA Warm December
1973
Dr. Matt Younger
movieNationtime: Gary
1972
Self - Narrator
movieThe Organization
1971
Virgil Tibbs
movieBrother John
1971
John Kane
movieThey Call Me Mister Tibbs!
1970
Virgil Tibbs
movieKing: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Lost Man
1969
Jason Higgs
Three Young Americans in Search of Survival
1969
Himself
movieFor Love of Ivy
1968
Jack Parks
tvThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
Self - Guest
movieGuess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967
John Prentice
movieIn the Heat of the Night
1967
Virgil Tibbs
movieTo Sir, with Love
1967
Mark Thackeray
tvABC Stage 67
1966
Self - Host
movieDuel at Diablo
1966
Toller
movieThe Slender Thread
1965
Alan Newell
movieA Patch of Blue
1965
Gordon Ralfe
movieThe Bedford Incident
1965
Ben Munceford
movieThe Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
Simon of Cyrene
movieThe Long Ships
1964
Aly Mansuh
movieLilies of the Field
1963
Homer Smith
moviePressure Point
1962
Doctor
tvThe Mike Douglas Show
1961
Self / Self - Taped Tribute
movieParis Blues
1961
Eddie Cook
movieA Raisin in the Sun
1961
Walter Lee Younger
movieAll the Young Men
1960
Sgt. Eddie Towler
movieVirgin Island
1959
Marcus
movieThe Defiant Ones
1958
Noah Cullen
movieBand of Angels
1957
Rau-Ru
movieSomething of Value
1957
Kimani Wa Karanja
movieEdge of the City
1957
Tommy Tyler
movieGood-bye, My Lady
1956
Gates Watson
tvTony Awards
1956
Self - Presenter
movieA Man Is Ten Feet Tall
1955
Tommy Tyler
movieBlackboard Jungle
1955
Gregory W. Miller
movieGo Man Go
1954
Inman Jackson
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
movieThe Red Ball Express
1952
Robertson
movieCry, the Beloved Country
1951
Reverend Msimangu
movieNo Way Out
1950
Luther Brooks
tvThe Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Tommy Tyler
movieSepia Cinderella
1947
Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
tvGolden Globe Awards
1944
Self - Nominee / Self - Presenter
Directing9
movieGhost Dad
1990
Director
movieFast Forward
1985
Director
movieHanky Panky
1982
Director
movieStir Crazy
1980
Director
movieA Piece of the Action
1977
Director
movieLet's Do It Again
1975
Director
movieUptown Saturday Night
1974
Director
movieA Warm December
1973
Director
movieBuck and the Preacher
1972
Director
Production1
movieBuck and the Preacher
1972
Producer
Writing1
movieFor Love of Ivy
1968
Original Story