Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died. He was 94.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Poitier, winner of the best actor Oscar in 1964 for 슬롯사이트œLilies of the Field,슬롯사이트� died Thursday in the Bahamas, according to Eugene Torchon-Newry, acting director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Bahamas.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천RIP Cara Williams: Oscar and Emmy Nominated Golden Age Actor, Dies at 96.

Few movie stars, Black or white, had such an influence both on and off the screen.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Before Poitier, the son of Bahamian tomato farmers, no Black actor had a sustained career as a lead performer or could get a film produced based on his own star power.

Before Poitier, few Black actors were permitted a break from the stereotypes of bug-eyed servants and grinning entertainers.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Before Poitier, Hollywood filmmakers rarely even attempted to tell a Black person's story.

Poitier's rise mirrored profound changes in the country in the 1950s and 1960s.

As racial attitudes evolved during the civil rights era and segregation laws were challenged and fell, Poitier was the performer to whom a cautious industry turned for stories of progress.

He was the escaped Black convict who befriends a racist white prisoner (Tony Curtis) in 슬롯사이트œThe Defiant Ones.슬롯사이트�슬롯 머신 사이트 추천He was the courtly office worker who falls in love with a blind white girl in 슬롯사이트œA Patch of Blue.슬롯사이트�슬롯 머신 사이트 추천He was the handyman in 슬롯사이트œLilies of the Field슬롯사이트� who builds a church for a group of nuns.

In one of the great roles of the stage and screen, he was the ambitious young father whose dreams clashed with those of other family members in Lorraine Hansberry's 슬롯사이트œA Raisin in the Sun.슬롯사이트�

Debates about diversity in Hollywood inevitably turn to the story of Poitier. With his handsome, flawless face; intense stare and disciplined style, he was for years not just the most popular Black movie star, but the only one.

슬롯사이트œI made films when the only other Black on the lot was the shoeshine boy,슬롯사이트� he recalled in a 1988 Newsweek interview.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯사이트œI was kind of the lone guy in town.슬롯사이트� Poitier peaked in 1967 with three of the year's most notable movies: 슬롯사이트œTo Sir, With Love,슬롯사이트� in which he starred as a school teacher who wins over his unruly students at a London secondary school; 슬롯사이트œIn the Heat of the Night,슬롯사이트� as the determined police detective Virgil Tibbs; and in 슬롯사이트œGuess Who's Coming to Dinner,슬롯사이트� as the prominent doctor who wishes to marry a young white woman he only recently met, her parents played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in their final film together.

Theatre owners named Poitier the No. 1 star of 1967, the first time a Black actor topped the list.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천In 2009, President Barack Obama, whose own steady bearing was sometimes compared to Poitier's, awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying that the actor 슬롯사이트œnot only entertained but enlightened ... revealing the power of the silver screen to bring us closer together.슬롯사이트�

His appeal brought him burdens not unlike such other historical figures as Jackie Robinson and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

He was subjected to bigotry from whites and accusations of compromise from the Black community.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Poitier was held, and held himself, to standards well above his white peers. He refused to play cowards and took on characters, especially in 슬롯사이트œGuess Who's Coming to Dinner,슬롯사이트� of almost divine goodness.

He developed a steady, but resolved and occasionally humorous persona crystallized in his most famous line 슬롯사이트� 슬롯사이트œThey call me Mr. Tibbs!슬롯사이트� 슬롯사이트� from 슬롯사이트œIn the Heat of the Night.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트œAll those who see unworthiness when they look at me and are given thereby to denying me value 슬롯사이트� to you I say, I'm not talking about being as good as you. I hereby declare myself better than you,'슬롯사이트� he wrote in his memoir, 슬롯사이트œThe Measure of a Man,슬롯사이트� published in 2000.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Betty White Filmed a Tribute for Fans Just 10 Days Before Her Death.

But even in his prime he was criticized for being out of touch. He was called an Uncle Tom and a 슬롯사이트œmillion-dollar shoeshine boy.슬롯사이트�슬롯 머신 사이트 추천In 1967, The New York Times published Black playwright Clifford Mason's essay, 슬롯사이트œWhy Does White America Love Sidney Poitier So?슬롯사이트� Mason dismissed Poitier's films as 슬롯사이트œa schizophrenic flight from historical fact슬롯사이트� and the actor as a pawn for the 슬롯사이트œwhite man's sense of what's wrong with the world.슬롯사이트�

Stardom didn't shield Poitier from racism and condescension.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천He had a hard time finding housing in Los Angeles and was followed by the Ku Klux Klan when he visited Mississippi in 1964, not long after three civil rights workers had been murdered there.

In interviews, journalists often ignored his work and asked him instead about race and current events.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯사이트œI am an artist, man, American, contemporary,슬롯사이트� he snapped during a 1967 press conference. 슬롯사이트œI am an awful lot of things, so I wish you would pay me the respect due.슬롯사이트�

Poitier was not as engaged politically as his friend and contemporary Harry Belafonte, leading to occasional conflicts between them. But he participated in the 1963 March on Washington and other civil rights events, and as an actor defended himself and risked his career.

He refused to sign loyalty oaths during the 1950s, when Hollywood was barring suspected Communists, and turned down roles he found offensive.

슬롯사이트œAlmost all the job opportunities were reflective of the stereotypical perception of Blacks that had infected the whole consciousness of the country,슬롯사이트� he recalled.

슬롯사이트œI came with an inability to do those things. It just wasn't in me. I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.슬롯사이트�

Poitier's films were usually about personal triumphs rather than broad political themes, but the classic Poitier role, from 슬롯사이트œIn the Heat of the Night슬롯사이트� to 슬롯사이트œGuess Who's Coming to Dinner,슬롯사이트� was as a Black man of such decency and composure 슬롯사이트� Poitier became synonymous with the word 슬롯사이트œdignified슬롯사이트� 슬롯사이트� that he wins over the whites opposed to him.

His screen career faded in the late 1960s as political movements, Black and white, became more radical and movies more explicit. He acted less often, gave fewer interviews and began directing, his credits including the Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder farce 슬롯사이트œStir Crazy,슬롯사이트� 슬롯사이트œBuck and the Preacher슬롯사이트� (co-starring Poitier and Belafonte) and the Bill Cosby comedies 슬롯사이트œUptown Saturday Night슬롯사이트� and 슬롯사이트œLet's Do It Again.슬롯사이트�

In the 1980s and '90s, he appeared in the feature films 슬롯사이트œSneakers슬롯사이트� and 슬롯사이트œThe Jackal슬롯사이트� and several television movies, receiving an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination as future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 슬롯사이트œSeparate But Equal슬롯사이트� and an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in 슬롯사이트œMandela and De Klerk.슬롯사이트�

Theatergoers were reminded of the actor through an acclaimed play that featured him in name only: John Guare's 슬롯사이트œSix Degrees of Separation,슬롯사이트� about a con artist claiming to be Poitier's son.

In recent years, a new generation learned of him through Oprah Winfrey, who chose 슬롯사이트œThe Measure of a Man슬롯사이트� for her book club. Meanwhile, he welcomed the rise of such Black stars as Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Danny Glover: 슬롯사이트œIt's like the cavalry coming to relieve the troops! You have no idea how pleased I am,슬롯사이트� he said.

Poitier received numerous honorary prizes, including a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute and a special Academy Award in 2002, on the same night that Black performers won both best acting awards, Washington for 슬롯사이트œTraining Day슬롯사이트� and Halle Berry for 슬롯사이트œMonster's Ball.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트œI'll always be chasing you, Sidney,슬롯사이트� Washington, who had earlier presented the honorary award to Poitier, said during his acceptance speech. 슬롯사이트œI'll always be following in your footsteps. There's nothing I would rather do, sir, nothing I would rather do.슬롯사이트�

Poitier had four daughters with his first wife, Juanita Hardy, and two with his second wife, actress Joanna Shimkus, who starred with him in his 1969 film 슬롯사이트œThe Lost Man.슬롯사이트� Daughter Sydney Tamaii Poitier appeared on such television series as 슬롯사이트œVeronica Mars슬롯사이트� and 슬롯사이트œMr. Knight.슬롯사이트�

His life ended in adulation, but it began in hardship. Poitier was born prematurely, weighing just 3 pounds, in Miami, where his parents had gone to deliver tomatoes from their farm on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas.

He spent his early years on the remote island, which had a population of 1,500 and no electricity, and he quit school at 12 1/2 to help support the family.

Three years later, he was sent to live with a brother in Miami; his father was concerned that the street life of Nassau was a bad influence. With $3 in his pocket, Sidney travelled steerage on a mail-cargo ship.

슬롯사이트œThe smell in that portion of the boat was so horrendous that I spent a goodly part of the crossing heaving over the side,슬롯사이트� he told The Associated Press in 1999, adding that Miami soon educated him about racism.

슬롯사이트œI learned quite quickly that there were places I couldn't go, that I would be questioned if I wandered into various neighbourhoods.슬롯사이트� Poitier moved to Harlem and was so overwhelmed by his first winter there he enlisted in the Army, cheating on his age and swearing he was 18 when he had yet to turn 17.

Assigned to a mental hospital on Long Island, Poitier was appalled at how cruelly the doctors and nurses treated the soldier patients.

In his 1980 autobiography, 슬롯사이트œThis Life,슬롯사이트� he related how he escaped the Army by feigning insanity.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Back in Harlem, he was looking in the Amsterdam News for a dishwasher job when he noticed an ad seeking actors at the American Negro Theatre.

He went there and was handed a script and told to go on the stage. Poitier had never seen a play in his life and could barely read.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천He stumbled through his lines in a thick Caribbean accent and the director marched him to the door.

슬롯사이트œAs I walked to the bus, what humiliated me was the suggestion that all he could see in me was a dishwasher. If I submitted to him, I would be aiding him in making that perception a prophetic one,슬롯사이트� Poitier later told the AP.

슬롯사이트œI got so pissed, I said, I'm going to become an actor 슬롯사이트� whatever that is. I don't want to be an actor, but I've got to become one to go back there and show him that I could be more than a dishwasher.' That became my goal.슬롯사이트�

The process took months as he sounded out words from the newspaper. Poitier returned to the American Negro Theatre and was again rejected.

Then he made a deal: He would act as janitor for the theatre in return for acting lessons. When he was released again, his fellow students urged the teachers to let him be in the class play.

Another Caribbean, Belafonte, was cast in the lead. When Belafonte couldn't make a preview performance because it conflicted with his own janitorial duties, his understudy, Poitier, went on.

The audience included a Broadway producer who cast him in an all-Black version of 슬롯사이트œLysistrata.슬롯사이트�슬롯 머신 사이트 추천The play lasted four nights, but rave reviews for Poitier won him an understudy job in 슬롯사이트œAnna Lucasta,슬롯사이트� and later he played the lead in the road company.

In 1950, he broke through on screen in 슬롯사이트œNo Way Out,슬롯사이트� playing a doctor whose patient, a white man, dies and is then harassed by the patient's bigoted brother, played by Richard Widmark.

Key early films included 슬롯사이트œBlackboard Jungle,슬롯사이트� featuring Poitier as a tough high school student (the actor was well into his 20s at the time) in a violent school; and 슬롯사이트œThe Defiant Ones,슬롯사이트� which brought Poitier his first best actor nomination, and the first one for any Black male.

The theme of cultural differences turned lighthearted in 슬롯사이트œLilies of the Field,슬롯사이트� in which Poitier played a Baptist handyman who builds a chapel for a group of Roman Catholic nuns, refugees from Germany. In one memorable scene, he gives them an English lesson.

The only Black actor before Poitier to win a competitive Oscar was Hattie McDaniel, the 1939 best supporting actress for 슬롯사이트œGone With the Wind.슬롯사이트�

No one, including Poitier, thought 슬롯사이트œLilies of the Field슬롯사이트� his best film, but the times were right (Congress would soon pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for which Poitier had lobbied) and the actor was favoured even against such competitors as Paul Newman for 슬롯사이트œHud슬롯사이트� and Albert Finney for 슬롯사이트œTom Jones.슬롯사이트� Newman was among those rooting for Poitier.

When presenter Anne Bancroft announced his victory, the audience cheered for so long that Poitier momentarily forgot his speech. 슬롯사이트œIt has been a long journey to this moment,슬롯사이트� he declared.

Poitier never pretended that his Oscar was 슬롯사이트œa magic wand슬롯사이트� for Black performers, as he observed after his victory, and he shared his critics' frustration with some of the roles he took on, confiding that his characters were sometimes so unsexual they became kind of 슬롯사이트œneuter.슬롯사이트�

But he also believed himself fortunate and encouraged those who followed him.

슬롯사이트œTo the young African American filmmakers who have arrived on the playing field, I am filled with pride you are here. I am sure, like me, you have discovered it was never impossible, it was just harder,슬롯사이트� he said in 1992 as he received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯사이트œWelcome, young Blacks. Those of us who go before you glance back with satisfaction and leave you with a simple trust: Be true to yourselves and be useful to the journey.슬롯사이트�