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Sidney Poitier is a Actor, Director, Original Story and Producer American born on 20 february 1927 at Miami (USA)

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier
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Nationality USA
Birth 20 february 1927 at Miami (USA)
Death 7 january 2022 (at 94 years)
Awards Academy Award for Best Actor, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Grammy Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom

Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (/ˈpwɑːtjeɪ/ or /ˈpwɑːti.eɪ/; born February 20, 1927), is an American-born Bahamian actor, film director, author, and diplomat.

In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three successful films: To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, making him the top box-office star of that year. In all three films, issues revolve around the race of the characters Poitier portrays. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 22nd on the list of 25.

Poitier has directed a number of popular movies, such as A Piece of the Action, Uptown Saturday Night, Let's Do It Again (with friend Bill Cosby) and Stir Crazy (starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). In 2002, thirty-eight years after receiving the Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive an Honorary Award, designated "To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being." Since 1997, he has been the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. On August 12, 2009, Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.

Biography

Le patronyme de Poitier, d'origine française, fut introduit en Angleterre au XI siècle durant la conquête normande. Quelques siècles plus tard, au début des années 1800, un descendant de la lignée Charles Leonard Poitier, s'installe à l'île Cat, aux Bahamas, comme planteur. À son décès en 1834, son épouse hérite de 86 esclaves (39 hommes et 47 femmes), qui portent tous, comme le voulait la coutume, le patronyme de leur défunt maître. Parmi eux se trouve l'un des ancêtres de Sidney Poitier.

Fils d'un planteur de tomates, Reginald James Poitier, et d'Evelyn Outten, Sidney Poitier naît lors d'un voyage de sa mère à Miami en Floride, dans le quartier de Coconut Grove. Il grandit dans le village de ses parents sur l'île Cat. À l'âge de quinze ans, son père l'envoie tenter sa chance aux États-Unis. Passionné de cinéma, il devient élève du prestigieux Actors Studio, dont il paie les cours en y étant concierge. Il a été nommé pour l'Oscar du meilleur acteur en 1958 pour La Chaîne (The Defiant Ones), avant de remporter cette récompense le 13 avril 1964 pour Le Lys des champs. Il devient ainsi le premier acteur noir à remporter ce prix.

Possédant la double nationalité américaine et bahaméenne, il milite pour les droits civiques américains. En 1974, Sidney Poitier a été fait chevalier-commandeur de l'ordre de l'Empire britannique (KBE), ce qui lui confère le titre et le prédicat de sir (les Bahamas, membre du Commonwealth, étaient encore une colonie britannique quelques mois auparavant).

En avril 1997, Poitier est nommé ambassadeur des Bahamas au Japon. Il est également ambassadeur des Bahamas auprès de l'UNESCO. Sidney Poitier fait partie des seize personnalités ayant reçu en août 2009, des mains du président Barack Obama, la médaille présidentielle de la Liberté, la plus haute distinction civile américaine.

Il a joué au cours de sa carrière dans une cinquantaine de films et en a réalisé une dizaine.

Best films

The Jackal
The Jackal
(1997)
(Actor) Stir Crazy
Stir Crazy
(1980)
(Director) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967)
(Actor) In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night
(1967)
(Actor) Lilies of the Field
Lilies of the Field
(1963)
(Actor) The Slender Thread
The Slender Thread
(1965)
(Actor)

Usually with

Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
(5 films)
Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
(9 films)
Henry Kingi
Henry Kingi
(6 films)
Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee
(8 films)
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
(6 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Sidney Poitier (58 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

I Am Not Your Negro
I Am Not Your Negro (2017)
, 1h33
Directed by Raoul Peck
Origin France
Genres Documentary
Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Harry Belafonte, Dick Cavett, Bob Dylan, Sidney Poitier, Doris Day
Roles Various Roles (archive footage)
Rating78% 3.9473753.9473753.9473753.9473753.947375
À travers les propos et les écrits de l’écrivain noir américain James Baldwin, Raoul Peck propose un film qui revisite les luttes sociales et politiques des Afro-Américains au cours de ces dernières décennies.
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (2000)
, 1h28
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Sidney Poitier, Mary-Louise Parker, Dianne Wiest, George Newbern, Frances Bay, Bernie Casey
Roles Noah Dearborn
Rating73% 3.6904253.6904253.6904253.6904253.690425
Noah Dearborn, un charpentier de 90 ans (bien qu'il n'en paraisse que 60), mène une vie sereine et isolée du monde moderne à Twin Pines (Géorgie). Christian Nelson, un promoteur immobilier, lui propose de lui acheter ses terres afin d'y bâtir un centre commercial. Devant son refus, Nelson décide de se les approprier en le faisant déclarer déficient mental. Afin d'y parvenir, il demande l'aide de sa petite amie, psychologue, le docteur Valérie Crane.
The Jackal
The Jackal (1997)
, 2h4
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action, Adventure, Spy, Crime
Themes Assassinat, Films about terrorism, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Political films, Road movies, Chase films, Gangster films
Actors Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora, Mathilda May, J. K. Simmons
Roles Carter Preston
Rating63% 3.1999753.1999753.1999753.1999753.199975
A joint mission of the American FBI and the Russian MVD leads to the death of the younger brother of an Azerbaijani mobster (David Hayman). In retaliation, the mobster hires an enigmatic assassin known only by the pseudonym "The Jackal" (Bruce Willis) to kill an unseen target. The Jackal demands $70 million for the job, to which the mobster reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, the MVD capture one of the mafia's henchmen. During interrogation by torture, the henchman reveals the name "Jackal". This, coupled with the documents recovered from the henchman's briefcase, leads the FBI and MVD to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is FBI Director Donald Brown (John Cunningham).
To Sir, with Love II
To Sir, with Love II (1996)
, 1h32
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about education
Actors Sidney Poitier, Christian Payton, Dana Eskelson, Saundra Santiago, Daniel J. Travanti, Lulu
Roles Mark Thackeray
Rating63% 3.151083.151083.151083.151083.15108
Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) is a West Indian, who in the 1967 film took a teaching position in a London East End school. He spent twenty years teaching and ten in administrative roles. He has taught the children of his former pupils, and is now retiring.
Sneakers
Sneakers (1992)
, 2h6
Directed by Phil Alden Robinson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Spy, Crime
Themes Spy films, Films about computing, Sécurité informatique, Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier
Roles Crease
Rating70% 3.548473.548473.548473.548473.54847
In 1969, students Martin Brice and Cosmo are sneakers who hack into computer networks using university equipment, to redistribute conservative funds to various liberal causes. The police burst in and arrest Cosmo while Martin is out getting pizza, and Martin becomes a fugitive.
Separate But Equal
Separate But Equal (1991)
, 3h14
Directed by George Stevens Jr.
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Historical
Actors Graham Beckel, Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Gloria Foster, Richard Kiley, Tommy Hollis
Roles Thurgood Marshall
Rating74% 3.7313.7313.7313.7313.731
The issue before the United States Supreme Court is whether the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution mandates the individual states to desegregate public schools; that is, whether the nation's "separate but equal" policy heretofore upheld under the law, is unconstitutional. The issue is placed before the Court by Brown v. Board of Education and its companion case, Briggs v. Elliott. Many of the justices personally believe segregation is morally unacceptable, but have difficulty justifying the idea legally under the 14th Amendment. Marshall and Davis argue their respective cases. Marshall argues the equal protection clause extends far enough to the states to prohibit segregated schools. Davis counters that control of public schools is a "state's rights" issue that Congress never intended to be covered by the 14th Amendment when it was passed.
Shoot to Kill
Shoot to Kill (1988)
, 1h49
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Sports films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Road movies, Chase films
Actors Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Andrew Robinson, Kirstie Alley, Clancy Brown, Richard Masur
Roles Warren Stantin
Rating67% 3.3981053.3981053.3981053.3981053.398105
A man is discovered breaking into his own jewelery shop in the dead of night. Questioned closely, it is discovered that his wife is being held hostage at their home by Steve, a brutal extortionist who demands the diamonds in the shop's safe in exchange for the woman's life. After Steve kills the family maid, FBI agent Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) hands over the diamonds, but Steve kills the jeweller's wife anyway, and escapes. Feeling that he has failed, Stantin becomes obsessed with finding Steve, and he chases Steve into the rugged forests of the state of Washington, where Steve joins up with a group of sportsmen who plan to trek into the wilderness on a fishing trip. Steve's plan is to kill them and force their guide, Sarah (Kirstie Alley), to lead him through the wilderness to the Canadian border.
Little Nikita
Little Nikita (1988)
, 1h38
Directed by Richard Benjamin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Spy films, Political films
Actors Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Richard Jenkins, Richard Bradford, Jacob Vargas, Caroline Kava
Roles Roy Parmenter
Rating59% 2.9510252.9510252.9510252.9510252.951025
Jeffrey Nicolas Grant (River Phoenix), a brash hyperactive high school student lives in a San Diego suburb with his parents, who own a successful garden centre. Keen to fly, he has applied for entry to the Air Force Academy.
A Piece of the Action
A Piece of the Action (1977)
, 2h15
Directed by Sidney Poitier
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Crime
Themes Buddy films, Heist films
Actors Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Denise Nicholas, Hope Clarke, Tracy Reed
Roles Manny Durrell
Rating63% 3.195573.195573.195573.195573.19557
Dave Anderson et Manny Durrell sont deux voleurs sournoises de grande classe qui n'a jamais été pris. Joshua Burke est un détective à la retraite qui a suffisamment de preuves sur la deux d'entre eux pour les mettre derrière les barreaux. Au lieu de cela, il propose de maintenir son silence si les escrocs vont aller tout droit et ne travailler à un centre de jeunesse pour les délinquants. Dans un premier temps, les escrocs sont réticents et ne voulant pas (et sont donc les enfants). Comme le temps passe, ils gagnent la confiance et l'admiration des enfants et ils commencent à apprécier le travail. Tout va bien jusqu'à ce que quelqu'un du passé leur dit qu'ils ont à faire un dernier hold-up .