Additional information
by Charles River (Author)
*Includes pictures
*Includes Poitier's quotes about his own life and career
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
"In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man." - Sidney Poitier
"To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved." - Sidney Poitier
A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.
Near the end of the 20th century, the American Film Institute ranked the greatest actors and actresses who worked during the Golden Era of Hollywood and the first half of the 1900s, and Sidney Poitier was ranked 22nd among the men. Given the company he was surrounded by, such a distinction could be considered honor enough, but Poitier also happened to be the only minority on the list, an accomplishment made all the more incredible given the systematic discrimination he faced within the industry and the land where he grew up.
Though he spent much of his childhood in the Bahamas, Poitier was born in Miami and was exposed to the effects of Jim Crow at a young age, where he came face-to-face with Jim Crow. With no good educational opportunities, Poitier struggled to even learn how to read as a teen, and after a stint in the Army, it's unclear where his life was headed until he successfully auditioned for a spot in the American Negro Theater, an organization that staged plays during the 1940s and helped groom both Poitier and Harry Belafonte to be actors.
Poitier slowly but surely broke into Hollywood during the 1950s, becoming the first black man to be nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Defiant Ones. Naturally, many of Poitier's films dealt with the tensions of integration in America, and as he once noted, he was often "the only black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people." In 1964, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Poitier fittingly became the first black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor thanks to his role in Lilies of the Field, and his best-known movie might be Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which dealt with interracial relationships at a time when they were still controversial.
Today, Poitier is widely considered an American icon who helped break down barriers for minorities in Hollywood, and as a testament to courage and willpower in the face of discrimination off screen. He has been given too many honorary awards to count, and he recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. American Legends: The Life of Sidney Poitier chronicles the life and roles of the iconic actor. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Poitier like never before, in no time at all.
