Sidney Poitier
In 1963 Sidney Poitier became only the second
African-American to win an Oscar when he won the best actor
Academy Award for his role as Homer Smith in Lilies In The
Field. Actress Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American
to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind,
made in 1939.
And in 1967 Sidney Poitier starred To Sir,
With Love, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming
to Dinner and his busy schedule was rewarded with his being
the top box office star of that year. Sidney Poitier was on
a roll... In 1970 he reprised his role of Virgil Tibbs, a
rle he first played In The Heat Of The Night, in the film
They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and then again in The Organization,
a film he made in 1971. Personally, I thought Sidney Poitier
in Shoot To Kill was excellent and he a his co-star, Tom Berenger,
had a chemistry I would like to haver seen more of. He then
made the excellent Little Nikita, a film I like very much.
Later he joined the all-star cast in the brilliant Sneakers
and I cannot leave Sidney Poitier without mentioning 1997
film, The Jackal... Sidney Poitier won an Oscar for best actor
in 1963 and should have won a few more during his career as
every character he has portrayed has impacted greatly on the
success of the movie. Sidney Poitier always delivers a powerful
performance and he exudes a gravitas and charisma that is
simply magnetic.
Tim Rees
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