Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, has died at the age of 94. The information was confirmed on Friday (7) by Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas, to international websites. The cause and place of death was not mentioned.
Poitier, a US citizen from the Bahamas, received an Academy Award for his work on “A Voice in the Shadows” in 1963.
Sidney Poitier and Catherine Hutton in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” – Image: Disclosure
The actor is also known for the films “Ao Mestre, com Affection”, “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner” and “No Calor da Noite”, which were all released in 1967.
Among his works as a director, he highlighted “Loucos de Dar Nó” (1980).
Sidney Poitier in A voice in the Shadows, a film in which he became the first black actor to win an Academy Award – Image: Publicity
The Academy honored Sidney Poitier, who was one of the last living stars of the golden age of Hollywood, in 2002, receiving an Academy Award for Conjunto da Obra for his contribution to cinema.
His last appearance was at the Academy Awards in 2014, when he presented the Best Director award alongside actress Angelina Jolie. By the way, the actor was warmly welcomed by those present.
Angelina Jolie and Sidney Poitier present the Best Director award at the 2014 Academy Awards – Photo: John Shearer/Invision/Associated Press
In addition to his work in theaters, Poitier has also been a major civil rights activist, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009 for his ongoing work on the cause.
In addition to this, he was also the Ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan between 1997 and 2007.
Poitier was married for 45 years to Joanna Schimkus, his second wife, with whom he had six children. Among them is the American actress Sidney Tamiya Poitier.
Sidney Poitier – Photo: PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
Sydney Poitier with Nelson Mandela in Cape Town in 1995 – Photo: Anna Szyminski / AFP
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