Biography

A native of Cat Island, The Bahamas, (though born in Miami during a mainland visit by his parents), Poitier grew up in poverty as the son of a dirt farmer. He had little formal education and at the age of 15 was sent to Miami to live with his brother, in order to forestall a growing tendency toward delinquency. In the U.S., Poitier first experienced the racial chasm that divides the country, a great shock to a boy coming from a society with a black majority. A determination to find and create opportunities for blacks was born in him because of the poor treatment he received on the streets of Miami. At 18, he went to New York, did menial jobs and slept in a bus terminal toilet. A brief stint in the Army as a worker at a veteran's hospital was followed by more menial jobs in Harlem. An impulsive audition at the American Negro Theatre was rejected so forcefully that Poitier dedicated the next six months to overcoming his accent and performance ineptness. On his second try, he was accepted. He was spotted in a rehearsal and given a bit part in a Broadway production of "Lysistrata," for which he got excellent reviews. By the end of 1949, he was having to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the film No Way Out (1950). Poitier's performance as a doctor treating a white bigot got him plenty of notice and led to more roles, each considerably more interesting and prominent than most black actors of the time were getting. Nevertheless, the roles were still less interesting and prominent than those white actors routinely obtained. But seven years later, after turning down several projects he considered demeaning, Poitier got a number of roles that catapulted him into a category rarely if ever achieved by a black man of that time, that of starring leading man. One of the films, The Defiant Ones (1958), gave Poitier his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. Five years later, he won the Oscar for Lilies of the Field (1963), the first black to win for a leading role. Poitier maintained activity on stage, on screen, and in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. His roles in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and To Sir, with Love (1967) were for their time landmarks in the breaking down of social barriers between blacks and whites, and Poitier's talent, conscience, integrity, and inherent likability placed him on equal footing with the white stars of the day. He took on directing and producing chores in the Seventies, achieving success in both arenas. Although he has reduced the frequency of his roles in recent years, he remains one of the most respected and beloved figures in American cinema of the twentieth century.

Filmography

• The Last Brickmaker in America (2001) (TV) .... Henry Cobb
  
• The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999) (TV) .... Noah Dearborn
• Free of Eden(1999) (TV) .... Will Cleamons
• David and Lisa(1998) (TV) .... Dr. Jack Miller
  
• The Jackal(1997) .... FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston
  
• Mandela and de Klerk(1997) (TV) .... Nelson Mandela
• To Sir, with Love II(1996) (TV) .... Mark Thackeray
• Children of the Dust(1995) (TV) .... Gypsy Smith
  
• Sneakers(1992) .... Donald Crease
• Separate But Equal(1991) (TV) .... Thurgood Marshall
  
• Little Nikita (1988) .... Roy Parmenter
  
• Shoot to Kill(1988) .... Warren Stantin
  
• A Piece of the Action (1977) .... Manny Durrell
• Let's Do It Again(1975) .... Clyde Williams
• The Wilby Conspiracy(1975) .... Shack Twala
• Uptown Saturday Night(1974) .... Steve Jackson
• A Warm December(1973) .... Matt Younger
• Buck and the Preacher(1972) .... Buck
• The Organization(1971) .... Detective Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs SFPD Homicide
• Brother John(1971) .... John Kane
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!(1970) .... Virgil Tibbs
  
• The Lost Man (1969) .... Jason Higgs
• For Love of Ivy(1968) .... Jack Parks
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner(1967) .... Dr. John Wade Prentice
• In the Heat of the Night(1967) .... Det. Virgil Tibbs
• To Sir, with Love(1967) .... Mark Thackeray
• Duel at Diablo(1966) .... Toller (contract horse dealer)
  
• The Slender Thread(1965) .... Alan Newell
• A Patch of Blue(1965) .... Gordon Ralfe
• The Greatest Story Ever Told(1965) .... Simon of Cyrene
  
• The Bedford Incident(1965) .... Ben Munceford
• The Long Ships(1964) .... Aly Mansuh
  
• Lilies of the Field(1963) .... Homer Smith
• Pressure Point(1962) .... Doctor (Chief Psychiatrist)
• Paris Blues(1961) .... Eddie Cook
• A Raisin in the Sun(1961) .... Walter Lee Younger
• All the Young Men(1960) .... Sgt. Eddie Towler
  
• Porgy and Bess (1959) .... Porgy
• The Defiant Ones(1958) .... Noah Cullen
• Virgin Island(1958) .... Marcus
  
• The Mark of the Hawk(1957) .... Obam
  
• Band of Angels(1957) .... Rau-Ru
• Something of Value(1957) .... Kimani Wa Karanja
  
• Edge of the City(1957) .... Tommy Tyler
  
• Good-bye, My Lady(1956) .... Gates
  
• "The Philco Television Playhouse".... Tommy Tyler (2 episodes, 1952-1955)
  
• "Kraft Television Theatre"(1 episode, 1955)
  
• Blackboard Jungle(1955) .... Gregory W. Miller
  
• Go, Man, Go!(1954) .... Inman Jackson
• Red Ball Express(1952) .... Cpl. Andrew Robertson
• Cry, the Beloved Country(1951) .... Reverend Msimangu
  
• No Way Out(1950) .... Dr. Luther Brooks
• Sepia Cinderella (1947) (uncredited) .... Extra

Images

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Links

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