Sidney Poitier, First Black Man To Win Best Actor Oscar, Dies At 94

Sidney Poitier, the Oscar-winning actor known for films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night, has died at 94. The news was confirmed by the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs (per Deadline). Poitier made history as the first Black man to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in 1963’s Lilies of the Field. He was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Born in Miami, Florida, Poitier grew up in the Bahamas before returning to the US at 15 as a teenager and getting his start onstage at the American Negro Theatre. He went on to become one of Hollywood’s first widely recognized Black leading men. He made his feature film debut in 1950’s No Way Out, before receiving his first Oscar nomination for his role in the 1958 film The Defiant Ones. He also became the first Black actor to start as a romantic lead in a major studio film: 1961’s Paris Blues (per the Kennedy Center).

By 1967, Poitier was one of the film industry’s most recognizable up-and-coming stars, appearing in three successful releases: In the Heat of the Night (which won Best Picture at the subsequent Academy Awards), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and To Sir, With Love. In January 1968, Variety wrote: “Poitier is the biggest film actor of the year, Black or white.”

At the time of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner‘s release, interracial marriages were still illegal in 17 states, making it the first mainstream film to support interracial relationships and feature an interracial couple hugging and kissing onscreen.

After winning his Oscar, the actor went on to receive a vast array of other awards over the years: A Grammy, an Honorary Academy Award in 2002, and a Golden Globe, as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards from AFI, BAFTA, Kennedy Center Honors, NAACP Image Awards, and SAG. Additionally, he received 10 Golden Globe nominations, two Primetime Emmy nominations, and six BAFTA nominations.

Poitier was also an advocate of improving Hollywood equity behind-the-scenes. Starting in the 1970s, he began directing films, and ultimately helmed nine over the course of his career. He was responsible for releasing a number of box office hits starring majority Black casts, including 1974’s Uptown Saturday Night, 1975’s Let’s Do It Again (which earned him an NAACP Image Award nomination), and 1980’s Stir Crazy (which became the third-highest-grossing film of the year).

Denzel Washington paid tribute to Poitier when he became the second Black man to win Best Actor in 2002, saying: “I’ll always be chasing you, Sidney. I’ll always be following in your footsteps. There’s nothing I would rather do.”