Sidney Poitier
Acting
Born: February 20, 1927 · Miami, Florida, USA
Died: January 6, 2022 (aged 94)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
The Jackal
1997
In the Heat of the Night
1967
Sneakers
1992
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967
Stir Crazy
1980
To Sir, with Love
1967
The Defiant Ones
1958
Shoot to Kill
1988
Lilies of the Field
1963
Ghost Dad
1990
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
Blackboard Jungle
1955
Photos (8)
Movies (55)
The Jackal
Carter Preston
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
John Prentice
Sneakers
Crease
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Simon of Cyrene
A Patch of Blue
Gordon Ralfe
The Defiant Ones
Noah Cullen
Blackboard Jungle
Gregory W. Miller
To Sir, with Love
Mark Thackeray
In the Heat of the Night
Virgil Tibbs
The Organization
Virgil Tibbs
Little Nikita
Roy Parmenter
Paris Blues
Eddie Cook
Shoot to Kill
Warren Stantin
Band of Angels
Rau-Ru
Buck and the Preacher
Buck
No Way Out
Luther Brooks
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
Virgil Tibbs
The Bedford Incident
Ben Munceford
The Wilby Conspiracy
Shack Twala
A Raisin in the Sun
Walter Lee Younger
Edge of the City
Tommy Tyler
Lilies of the Field
Homer Smith
The Red Ball Express
Robertson
Duel at Diablo
Toller
Uptown Saturday Night
Steve Jackson
Let's Do It Again
Clyde Williams
The Long Ships
Aly Mansuh
A Piece of the Action
Manny Durrell
The Slender Thread
Alan Newell
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
Noah Dearborn
For Love of Ivy
Jack Parks
Separate but Equal
Thurgood Marshall
To Sir, with Love II
Mark Thackeray
Porgy and Bess
Porgy
The Mark of the Hawk
Obam
Something of Value
Kimani Wa Karanja
A Man Is Ten Feet Tall
Tommy Tyler
Good-bye, My Lady
Gates Watson
All the Young Men
Sgt. Eddie Towler
Sepia Cinderella
Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
A Warm December
Dr. Matt Younger
David and Lisa
Dr. Jack Miller
The Lost Man
Jason Higgs
Pressure Point
Doctor
The Last Brickmaker in America
Henry Cobb
The Resurrection of Christ
2026
Brother John
John Kane
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
Reverend Msimangu (archive footage)
Free of Eden
Will Cleamons
Cry, the Beloved Country
Reverend Msimangu
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000
Mandela and de Klerk
Nelson Mandela
Virgin Island
Marcus
Go Man Go
Inman Jackson
Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
Narrator (voice)
TV Shows (6)
Self / Appearances (43)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 1 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Taped Tribute · 1 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 2 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 7 eps
Sidney
Self
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self · 2 eps
Cinépanorama
Self · 1 eps
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
ABC Stage 67
Self - Host · 1 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1 eps
Remembering Gene Wilder
Self (archive photos)
Paul Newman: The Restless
Self (archive footage)
Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback
Self (archive footage)
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Self
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
Self
Sing Your Song
Self
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Self
A Century of Cinema
Self
Mr. SOUL!
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
Nationtime: Gary
Self - Narrator
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
Self - Audience Member
I Love Quincy
Self
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
Self
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters
Self
Afro Promo
Self (archive footage)
The Making of ‘Sneakers’
Self
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
Self
Quincy Jones: In the Pocket
Self
The Madding Crowd
Self (archive footage)
A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story
Self
A Cinderella Named Elizabeth
Self
Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
Self
The Strolling '20s
Self
Poitier's Walter Lee
Self (archive footage)
Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Directing (9)
Ghost Dad
Director
Stir Crazy
Director
Hanky Panky
Director
Buck and the Preacher
Director
Uptown Saturday Night
Director
Let's Do It Again
Director
A Piece of the Action
Director
Fast Forward
Director
A Warm December
Director