Sidney Poitier: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"''I'll always be chasing you, Sidney, I'll always be following in your footsteps. There's nothing I would rather do, sir, nothing I would rather do.''"|'''[[Denzel Washington]]''', while accepting his Best Actor [[Oscar]].}}

The [[Jackie Robinson]] of dramatic film acting in North America, ~~born~~ in 1927.

The [[Jackie Robinson]] of dramatic film acting in North America, lived February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022.

Before [[Sidney Poitier]], the notion of a Black man being a leading actor in dramatic American films was all but scoffed at, but this magnificent actor broke through the prejudice to make an invaluable precedent for minority actors, and paid the price for it along the way.

Before '''Sidney Poitier''', the notion of a Black man being a leading actor in dramatic American films was all but scoffed at, but this magnificent actor broke through the prejudice to make an invaluable precedent for minority actors, and paid the price for it along the way.

First hitting the big time in 1955 as a bright-but-troubled high school delinquent in the early [[Save Our Students]] drama ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'', Poitier soon became a special presence in classic films like ''[[The Defiant Ones]]'' and was the first Black man to win an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for Best Actor for ''[[Lilies of the Field]]'' in 1963. Unfortunately, Poitier was all too aware this was effectively an award for being the [[Token Minority]] in Hollywood, and he felt he had to set an example for playing characters that show African Americans in a good light to bury the Stepin Fetchit stereotypes.

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