The late Sidney Poitier KBE (February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-born, Hollywood-trained, and internationally respected actor, director, and diplomat. The first African-American actor and the first Bahamian to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards, he made history in 1964. Here you will read details realting to is Sidney Poitier’s dead? What happened to him and What was the cause? To know these details start reading:
He won two Golden Globes, a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA), and a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. Poitier was a renowned Hollywood actor who died late in the Golden Age of Hollywood’s film industry.
Poitier was born in Miami, Florida, while his family was on vacation from their home in the Bahamas, a Crown colony at the time. Hence he is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Originally from the Bahamas, he relocated to Miami when he was 15 and then to New York City when he was 16. In the film Blackboard Jungle, he played a high school student and got his big break after joining the American Negro Theatre (1955).
Sidney Poitier Early Life
On February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, Poitier entered the world. His parents, Evelyn (née Outten) and Reginald James Poitier were Afro-Bahamian farmers who raised seven children on their Cat Island farm. The family would take a trip to Miami to meet wholesale buyers for their tomatoes and other crops.
In Nassau, even his father drove a cab for a living. Poitier was born three months early when his parents were on a business trip to Miami, but they stayed there for a full three months to care for their son. Poitier spent his formative years on what was then a British colony, the Bahamas. Since he was born in America, the country automatically granted him citizenship.
Sidney Poitier Career
Though he tried his luck with the American Negro Theater, Poitier was primarily ignored by the public. Poitier’s inability to sing ran counter to the racial stereotypes of the period, which held that black actors should be able to do so.
He spent the following six months honing his craft and getting rid of his solid Bahamian accent to achieve his goal of acting success. His now-famous delivery was based on that of radio host Norman Brokenshire. On his second try, he was cast as the lead in a Broadway production of Lysistrata, and despite the show’s short four-day run, he was offered the part of Anna Lucasta’s understudy.
Sidney Poitier’s Personal Life
Poitier’s first marriage, to Juanita Hardy, lasted from April 29, 1950, to 1965. Poitier moved to Mount Vernon in Westchester County in 1956, but the family still lived in the Hudson River home they had purchased in Stuyvesant. A relationship between Poitier and actress Diahann Carroll began in 1959 and lasted for the next nine years.
On January 23, 1976, he wed Canadian actress Joanna Shimkus, who co-starred with Poitier in 1969’s The Lost Man; they stayed married until his death. Two of his daughters were born to his second wife, while his first wife gave birth to four (Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, and Gina) (Anika and Sydney Tamiia). Poitier had eight grandkids, three great-grandchildren, and his six daughters. Poitier’s family lost 23 members in Dorian in the September 2019 hurricane in the Bahamas.
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Sidney Poitier’s Death
Poitier died at his Beverly Hills, California, residence on January 6, 2022. He was 94. Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister of the Bahamas, confirmed his death.
TMZ claims to have secured a copy of the death certificate, which states that he died of cardiopulmonary failure brought on by Alzheimer’s illness and prostate cancer.
Many others, including Vice President Joe Biden, issued statements after Poitier’s death remembering him. Biden said, in part, that Poitier “helped open the hearts of millions and transformed the way America saw itself” with his “unflinching grandeur and poise.” Poitier was “a rare artist who exemplified elegance and grace,” as Obama said in a statement honoring the late actor. Comments were also made public by Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton.
In addition to Martin Scorsese, many other celebrities in the entertainment world have paid tribute to Poitier. “Sidney Poitier was the center of attention for a long time. His lyrical perfection, physical strength, and graceful movement at times looked almost miraculous.” Octavia Spencer, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Esposito, Quincy Jones, Michael Eisner, Ron Howard, Oprah Winfrey, Octavia Spencer, Harry Belafonte, Morgan Freeman, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Lupita Nyong’o, Halle Berry, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Octavia Spencer, and others paid tribute.
Broadway theatres went dark on January 19, 2022, at 7:45 p.m. ET. The Ebertfest film festival has announced that they will honor Poitier and Gilbert Gottfried at their 2022 event.