Sidney Poitier death news updates – Actor’s cause of death revealed after Oscar winner passed away at 94
LILIES of the Field actor Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win a Best Actor Oscar, has passed away at 94.
Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor who appeared in more than 50 films, was an Oscar winner and a great trailblazer in Hollywood.
The Acadamy Award winner's death was confirmed by Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, via .
Clint Watson, who is the press secretary for the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, relayed to that Poitier died of “natural causes."
Watson also told the outlet that Poitier had been “ailing for a while.”
In response to Poitier's death, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said he was "conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier
"Sadness that he would no longer be here to tell him how much he means to us, but celebration that he did so much to show the world that those from the humblest beginnings can change the world and that we gave him his flowers while he was with us," Cooper told the .
Read our Sidney Poitier live blog for the very latest news and updates...
Poitier’s arrival in the US
In a 2009 interview with , Poitier revealed his father took him to the dock in the Bahamas and put $3 in his hand.
“He said, ‘Take care of yourself, son.’ And he turned me around to face the boat,” Poitier told the outlet.
After a short stay in Miami, Poitier moved up north to , where he tried his hands at acting.
Poitier grew up in the Bahamas
The Bahamian-American star was granted US citizenship after being unexpectedly born in while his parents were visiting.
He grew up in the Bahamas but moved to the US when he turned 15 after his parents decided to send him to live with an older brother in Miami – where they figured he would have better opportunities.
Sidney Poitier’s family in documentary
It has also been reported that the actor’s family is contributing to the upcoming Apple Studios documentary.
reported that Oprah Winfrey will produce the documentary through her Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment.
Sidney Poitier documentary in the works
It has been revealed that a documentary is being filmed on Sidney Poitier.
Oprah Winfrey is reportedly producing the Apple Studios film, and Reginald Hudlin is directing it.
The documentary has been worked on for more than a year, and its described as an in-depth look into the life of Sidney Poitier.
Bahamas government issues statement
In response to Poitier’s death, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said he was “conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier.”
“Sadness that he would no longer be here to tell him how much he means to us, but a celebration that he did so much to show the world that those from the humblest beginnings can change the world and that we gave him his flowers while he was with us,” Cooper told the .
Poitier’s family statement
“There are no words to convey the deep sense of loss and sadness we are feeling right now. We are so grateful he was able to spend his last day surrounded by his family and friends,” the actor’s family said in a joint statement.
“To us Sidney Poitier was not only a brilliant actor, activist, and a man of incredible grace and moral fortitude, he was also a devoted and loving husband, a supportive and adoring father, and a man who always put family first. He is our guiding light who lit up our lives with infinite love and wonder. His smile was healing, his hugs the warmest refuge, and his laughter was infectious.”
“We could always turn to him for wisdom and solace and his absence feels like a giant hole in our family and our hearts. Although he is no longer here with us in this realm, his beautiful soul will continue to guide and inspire us. He will live on in us, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren—in every belly laugh, every curious inquiry, every act of compassion and kindness. His legacy will live on in the world, continuing to inspire not only with his incredible body of work, but even more so with his humanity.”
Refused clichéd roles
Poitier set a precedent for himself and many who came after him by persistently refusing to take clichéd roles that were given to him as a Black actor.
His performance in films like The Blackboard Jungle (1955) had established him as America’s first famous Black cinema star by the time he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for The Defiant Ones (1958).
When did Poitier retire?
By 2000, Poitier had retired from acting and began to write a memoir.
He penned several autobiographies in his lifetime, including This Life, which detailed his childhood and his troubled romantic life, The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography, and Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter.
Ambassador Pointier
In April 1997, Poitier was appointed ambassador of the Bahamas to , a position he held until 2007.
From 2002 to 2007, he was concurrently the ambassador of the Bahamas to The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Poitier struggles in Hollywood
As the lone Black leading man in 1960s Hollywood, he came under tremendous scrutiny.
His films struggled for distribution in the South, and his choice of roles was limited to what white-run studios would produce.
He was too often hailed as a noble symbol of his race and endured criticism from some black people who said he had betrayed them by taking sanitized roles and pandering to white people.
“It’s been an enormous responsibility,” Poitier .
“And I accepted it, and I lived in a way that showed how I respected that responsibility. I had to. In order for others to come behind me, there were certain things I had to do.”
Poitier’s acting beginnings
Poitier was born in the US in 1927 when his parents were on a visit from the Bahamas, where his father worked as a tomato farmer.
Poitier dropped out of school as a youngster and returned to America to join the US Army during World War II.
He grew interested in theater after his military service and applied to the American Negro Theatre in New York City.
Poitier was first turned down because of his distinct island accent, but he learned American enunciation and reapplied, this time with success.
He made his Broadway debut in 1946 in an all-Black Lysistrata production, and by 1950, he was performing in Hollywood films, beginning with No Way Out.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
In 2009, President Barack Obama gave Sidney Poitier the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
On the White House archives, Sidney Poitier was described:
“Sidney Poitier is an actor known for breaking racial barriers. He is the first African American to be nominated and win a Best Actor Academy Award.”
15 other recipients in 2009 were also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
‘The lone guy in town’
Debates about diversity in Hollywood inevitably turn to the story of Poitier. With his handsome, flawless face; intense stare and disciplined style, he was for years not just the most popular Black movie star, but the only one.
“I made films when the only other Black on the lot was the shoeshine boy,” Poitier recalled in a 1988 Newsweek interview. “I was kind of the lone guy in town.”
Poitier faced racism
Stardom didn’t shield Poitier from racism and condescension. He had a hard time finding housing in Los Angeles and was followed by the Ku Klux Klan when he visited Mississippi in 1964, not long after three civil rights workers had been murdered there. In interviews, journalists often ignored his work and asked him instead about race and current events.
“I am an artist, man, American, contemporary,” he snapped during a 1967 press conference. “I am an awful lot of things, so I wish you would pay me the respect due.”
Sidney Poitier also directed
In the span of his film career, Sidney Poitier also took on the director’s seat for a number of motion pictures.
Poitier’s directorial debut was the 1972 Western film, Buck and the Preacher.
Besides directing the movie, he also starred in the cinematic outing with his good friend, Harry Belafonte.
Buck and the Preacher consisted of themes that included civil rights, a movement they were both passionate about.
Harry Belafonte on Sidney Poitier
Belafonte said of his friendship with Poitier: “For over 80 years, Sidney and I laughed, cried and made as much mischief as we could.”
He continued in a statement regarding Poitier’s death: “He was truly my brother and partner in trying to make this world a little better. He certainly made mine a whole lot better.”
Sidney and Harry Belafonte
In 1946, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte struck up a friendship while they both lived in New York and worked at The American Negro Theatre.
While taking on parts in stage production, Poitier was Belafonte’s understudy at one point.
Belafonte tweeted Poitier a happy birthday while replying to a about the two’s history.
The King of Calypso posted on Twitter: “Soul Brothers indeed! Happy birthday to my good friend, Sidney Poitier.”
Pointier broke barriers
Few movie stars, Black or white, had such an influence both on and off the screen. Before Poitier, the son of Bahamian tomato farmers, no Black actor had a sustained career as a lead performer or could get a film produced based on his own star power. Before Poitier, few Black actors were permitted a break from the stereotypes of bug-eyed servants and grinning entertainers. Before Poitier, Hollywood filmmakers rarely even attempted to tell a Black person’s story.
What do Poitier’s other daughters do?
Gina, an administrative assistant, tragically died on May 27, 2018.
Sherri is a cook and Beverly is a designer for Poitier Henderson Jewelry.
Anika is a filmmaker who remains behind the camera.
Poitier had eight grandkids and three great-grandchildren in addition to his six daughters.
Pamela also pursued acting
Pamela, like her sister Sydney, pursued a career in acting.
Liberty &; Bash, Savannah, and The Jackal were among the films she worked on.
In addition to acting, she also works as a teacher.
Following in her father’s footsteps
Sydney Tamiia is an actress, having begun her acting career in 1998, and has since been on series such as Grey’s Anatomy, Hawaii Five-0, Chicago P.D., and Carter.
Poitier’s resolve to follow in her father’s footsteps as an actress led her to enroll in acting school.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Poitier’s daughters
The actor had six daughters in total: four daughters with Juanita Hardy named Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, and Gina.
Portier also had daughters Anika and Sydney Tamiia with Joanna Shimkus.
Will Smith’s tribute
The superstar actor shared an Instagram post to honor the late Sidney Poitier on Saturday.
Smith wrote: “An icon, legend, visionary, and true pioneer.
“Thank you Sidney Poitier for breaking down barriers, creating the path and making it possible for there to be a Will Smith! Your legacy is eternal. Rest In Power.
Who is Sidney Poitier’s wife?
Joanna Shimkus was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, and moved to the United States in the 1960s, where she had a thriving performing career.
By the end of the decade, she had acted in films including Zita and The Uninvited and had made her on-screen debut in 1964’s All About Loving, but it was her only performance until a television movie in 2018.
According to Closer Weekly, Shimkus met her future husband Sidney Poitier while working on the film The Lost Man in 1969.
Shimkus had begun to retire from acting by the 1970s.
Poitier’s family statement
“There are no words to convey the deep sense of loss and sadness we are feeling right now. We are so grateful he was able to spend his last day surrounded by his family and friends,” the actor’s family said in a joint statement.
“To us Sidney Poitier was not only a brilliant actor, activist, and a man of incredible grace and moral fortitude, he was also a devoted and loving husband, a supportive and adoring father, and a man who always put family first. He is our guiding light who lit up our lives with infinite love and wonder. His smile was healing, his hugs the warmest refuge, and his laughter was infectious.”
“We could always turn to him for wisdom and solace and his absence feels like a giant hole in our family and our hearts. Although he is no longer here with us in this realm, his beautiful soul will continue to guide and inspire us. He will live on in us, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren—in every belly laugh, every curious inquiry, every act of compassion and kindness. His legacy will live on in the world, continuing to inspire not only with his incredible body of work, but even more so with his humanity.”