Sidney Poitier Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 2222 GMT (0622 HKT) January 7, 2022

Sidney Poitier, who turns 90 years old on February 20, became the first black performer to win an Academy Award for best actor in 1964. Poitier, who won the Oscar for his performance in "Lilies of the Field," was one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1960s, and he remains a Hollywood legend. Here's a look back at his film career.
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – Sidney Poitier, who turns 90 years old on February 20, became the first black performer to win an Academy Award for best actor in 1964. Poitier, who won the Oscar for his performance in "Lilies of the Field," was one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1960s, and he remains a Hollywood legend. Here's a look back at his film career.
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Poitier, who was born in Miami and raised in the Bahamas, first earned note for his performance in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle." He played Gregory Miller, an inner-city tough who harasses a teacher -- played by Glenn Ford, right -- but is far from the worst of the students. The film is also notable for popularizing the song "Rock Around the Clock."
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – Poitier, who was born in Miami and raised in the Bahamas, first earned note for his performance in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle." He played Gregory Miller, an inner-city tough who harasses a teacher -- played by Glenn Ford, right -- but is far from the worst of the students. The film is also notable for popularizing the song "Rock Around the Clock."
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Poitier was paired with Hollywood A-lister Tony Curtis in 1958's "The Defiant Ones." It's a story of two escaped prisoners, a black man and a white man, who are chained together and have to learn to respect and work with each other. Poitier was nominated for an Oscar, becoming the first black man to earn a best actor nod. The film was directed by Stanley Kramer, who was known for his message movies.
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – Poitier was paired with Hollywood A-lister Tony Curtis in 1958's "The Defiant Ones." It's a story of two escaped prisoners, a black man and a white man, who are chained together and have to learn to respect and work with each other. Poitier was nominated for an Oscar, becoming the first black man to earn a best actor nod. The film was directed by Stanley Kramer, who was known for his message movies.
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Otto Preminger helmed the 1959 movie version of "Porgy and Bess," the famed folk opera about the residents of Charleston, South Carolina's, fictional Catfish Row. Poitier played the disabled Porgy, who tries to free Bess from her abusive lover, Crown. The film's all-black cast and challenging subject matter -- a drug dealer, Sportin' Life, has a major role -- didn't appeal to audiences despite such classic songs as "Summertime" and "It Ain't Necessarily So," and the film received mixed reviews.
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – Otto Preminger helmed the 1959 movie version of "Porgy and Bess," the famed folk opera about the residents of Charleston, South Carolina's, fictional Catfish Row. Poitier played the disabled Porgy, who tries to free Bess from her abusive lover, Crown. The film's all-black cast and challenging subject matter -- a drug dealer, Sportin' Life, has a major role -- didn't appeal to audiences despite such classic songs as "Summertime" and "It Ain't Necessarily So," and the film received mixed reviews.
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The Lorraine Hansberry play "A Raisin in the Sun" was turned into a 1961 movie with Poitier as Walter Younger, who's trying to raise a family on Chicago's South Side. When the family receives a financial windfall, Walter faces some difficult decisions. Louis Gossett Jr. made his film debut in the movie.
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – The Lorraine Hansberry play "A Raisin in the Sun" was turned into a 1961 movie with Poitier as Walter Younger, who's trying to raise a family on Chicago's South Side. When the family receives a financial windfall, Walter faces some difficult decisions. Louis Gossett Jr. made his film debut in the movie.
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In the 1963 film "Lilies of the Field," Poitier -- seen here with Lilia Skala -- plays a workman who helps a group of East German nuns construct a chapel in the Arizona desert. Poitier's performance earned him an Oscar, a first for a black actor. Since then, three other black performers have won best actor: Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker.
Photos: Sidney Poitier's prominent roles
Sidney Poitier's prominent roles – In the 1963 film "Lilies of the Field," Poitier -- seen here with Lilia Skala -- plays a workman who helps a group of East German nuns construct a chapel in the Arizona desert. Poitier's performance earned him an Oscar, a first for a black actor. Since then, three other black performers have won best actor: Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Forest