R.I.P. Sidney Poitier -1927-2022

The world was saddened to learn of the death of Sidney Poitier at age 94. The first black leading man was one of the signature stars of the 1960s, and paved the way for every POC in the industry since the mid-20th Century. One only needs to look at the stereotypical way that African-American characters were portrayed before 1950 to grasp how important the polished Poitier was. After a stint in the Army and an apprenticeship in NY theatre, the talented Bahamian went on to appear in many good films- "The Defiant Ones", "A Raisin in the Sun", "Paris Blues", "Lilies of the Field"(for which he won the Best Actor Oscar), "In the Heat of the Night"(1967's Best Picture), and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". His trailblazing wasn't limited to acting- he directed nine films, most notably his '70s blaxploitation trilogy with Bill Cosby and the 1980 hit "Stir Crazy". President Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 2009. Few performers in history can match the legacy and class of Sidney Poitier.

Complete filmography- "No Way Out"(1950), "Cry, the Beloved Country"(1951), "Red Ball Express"(1952), "Go Man Go"(1954), "Blackboard Jungle"(1955), "Goodbye, My Lady"(1956), "Edge of the City"(1957), "Something of Value"(1957), "Band of Angels"(1957), "The Mark of the Hawk"(1957), "Virgin Island"(1958), "The Defiant Ones"(1958), "Porgy and Bess"(1959), "All the Young Men"(1960), "A Raisin in the Sun"(1961), "Paris Blues"(1961), "Pressure Point"(1972), "The Long Ships"(1963), "Lilies of the Field"(1963), "The Bedford Incident"(1965), "The Greatest Story Ever Told"(1965), "A Patch of Blue"(1965), "The Slender Thread"(1965), "Duel at Diablo"(1966), "To Sir, with Love"(1967), "In the Heat of the Night"(1967), "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"(1967), "For Love of Ivy"(1968), "The Lost Man"(1969), "King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis"(1970)- narrator, "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!"(1970), "Brother John"(1971), "The Organization"(1971), "Buck and the Preacher"(1972)- also directed, "A Warm December"(1973)- also directed, "Uptown Saturday Night"(1974)- also directed, "The Wilby Conspiracy"(1975), "Let's Do it Again"(1975)- also directed, "A Piece of the Action"(1977)- also directed, "Stir Crazy"(1980)- director only, "Hanky Panky"(1982)- director only, "Fast Forward"(1985)- director only, "Shoot to Kill"(1988), "Little Nikita"(1988), "Ghost Dad"(1990)- director only, "Sneakers"(1992), "The Jackal"(1997), "The Last Bricklayer in America"(2001), "Mr Warmth: The Don Rickles Project"(2007)- documentary