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Legendary Hollywood Actor, Sidney Poitier, who broke through racial barriers as the first black winner of the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Lilies Of The Field in 1963 and inspired a generation during the civil rights movement, has died at the age of 94, an official from the Bahamian Ministry of foreign affairs said on Friday. Former US President Barack Obama said Poitier epitomised dignity and race and had singular talent.
His other notable movies were To Sir, With Love, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Born in Miami on February 20, 1927, he was raised on a tomato farm in the Bahamas, and had just one year of formal schooling. He struggled against poverty, illiteracy and prejudice to become one of the first Black actors to be known and accepted in major roles by mainstream audiences. In 2009, Poitier was awarded the highest U.S. civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama.