Norman Jewison, the versatile, acclaimed filmmaker behind movies like Fiddler on the Roof and In the Heat of the Night, died Saturday at home, his publicist announced Monday. He was 97.
Jewison was a seven-time Oscar nominee and earned the Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 1999. He earned both Best Director and Best Picture nods for the 1971 musical Fiddler on the Roof and the 1987 rom-com Moonstruck, starring Cher.
He also was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for 1976’s In the Heat of the Night.
Jewison was a seven-time Oscar nominee and earned the Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 1999. He earned both Best Director and Best Picture nods for the 1971 musical Fiddler on the Roof and the 1987 rom-com Moonstruck, starring Cher.
He also was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for 1976’s In the Heat of the Night.
- 1/22/2024
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Oscar-nominated film director and producer Norman Jewison, who steered the 1967 racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” to a best picture Oscar and also helmed such popular films as “Moonstruck,” “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as well as film musicals “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” died Saturday at his Los Angeles residence. He was 97.
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
- 1/22/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
When the late Sidney Poitier embarked on a movie career in the early 1950s, he entered an industry with a history of depicting Black people in the most negative fashion. The Birth of a Nation, the seminal 1915 silent film, had set the template – portraying African American characters as sex-crazed and subhuman.
“Then Sidney Poitier comes along singlehandedly smashing decades of racist iconography and turning it all on its head,” said Reginald Hudlin, director of the Apple TV+ documentary Sidney. “Him doing it at the same time as the Civil Rights Movement is making these political gains, he changed the global image of Black people on Earth.”
Related: Sidney Poitier: A Groundbreaking Career In Pictures
Hudlin and producer Derik Murray appeared at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event to discuss their film about the Oscar-winning star of Lilies of the Field, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner...
“Then Sidney Poitier comes along singlehandedly smashing decades of racist iconography and turning it all on its head,” said Reginald Hudlin, director of the Apple TV+ documentary Sidney. “Him doing it at the same time as the Civil Rights Movement is making these political gains, he changed the global image of Black people on Earth.”
Related: Sidney Poitier: A Groundbreaking Career In Pictures
Hudlin and producer Derik Murray appeared at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event to discuss their film about the Oscar-winning star of Lilies of the Field, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner...
- 4/29/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Walter Mirisch, former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Oscar-winning producer for In the Heat of the Night, died Friday in Los Angeles of natural causes. was 101. He had been the longest-living Oscar winner.
Mirisch — whose producing credits stretch to the 1940s and also include West Side Story, The Apartment and the 1960 and 2016 versions of The Magnificent Seven — also won a pair of Honorary Oscars: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1978 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1983. He also received the Producer Guild of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures in 1996.
Related Story Happy Birthday, Walter Mirisch: Oldest Living Oscar Winner Turns 100; His Films Include ‘West Side Story’, ‘The Apartment’ & ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ Related Story Oscars: Sofia Carson & Diane Warren To Perform 'Applause' During Ceremony Related Story Tom Whitlock Dies: Oscar-Winning Co-Writer Of 'Top Gun' Hits 'Take...
Mirisch — whose producing credits stretch to the 1940s and also include West Side Story, The Apartment and the 1960 and 2016 versions of The Magnificent Seven — also won a pair of Honorary Oscars: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1978 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1983. He also received the Producer Guild of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures in 1996.
Related Story Happy Birthday, Walter Mirisch: Oldest Living Oscar Winner Turns 100; His Films Include ‘West Side Story’, ‘The Apartment’ & ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ Related Story Oscars: Sofia Carson & Diane Warren To Perform 'Applause' During Ceremony Related Story Tom Whitlock Dies: Oscar-Winning Co-Writer Of 'Top Gun' Hits 'Take...
- 2/26/2023
- by Armando Tinoco and Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Sidney Poitier is set to receive an icon tribute at the upcoming Gotham Awards.
The posthumous honor from the Gotham Film & Media Institute follows the feature documentary Sidney debuting at the Toronto Film Festival. The Oscar-winning actor, notable for films like Lilies of the Field, To Sir, With Love and In the Heat of the Night, died in January of this year at age 94 at his home in Beverly Hills, California.
Poitier will be honored for his achievements in Hollywood and his activism during the U.S. Civil Rights movement at the 32nd annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Nov. 28, with Jonathan Majors introducing the tribute.
“Sidney Poitier’s extraordinary achievements as an actor and filmmaker across landmark independent films and studio features, as well as his inspiration and influence on filmmaking — particularly...
Sidney Poitier is set to receive an icon tribute at the upcoming Gotham Awards.
The posthumous honor from the Gotham Film & Media Institute follows the feature documentary Sidney debuting at the Toronto Film Festival. The Oscar-winning actor, notable for films like Lilies of the Field, To Sir, With Love and In the Heat of the Night, died in January of this year at age 94 at his home in Beverly Hills, California.
Poitier will be honored for his achievements in Hollywood and his activism during the U.S. Civil Rights movement at the 32nd annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Nov. 28, with Jonathan Majors introducing the tribute.
“Sidney Poitier’s extraordinary achievements as an actor and filmmaker across landmark independent films and studio features, as well as his inspiration and influence on filmmaking — particularly...
- 11/15/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Introduce yourselves to her!”
I was having a breakfast interview in 1997 with Sidney Poitier at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel when two rather sleazy Hollywood types interrupted our conversation proffering their hands to the legendary actor. Poitier stood up and shook their hands while these two men began to blither on about the first Black actor to win a competitive Oscar for 1963’s “Lilies of the Field” and was the top box office draw in 1968. Finally, Poitier stopped them, pointed to me and in his best Virgil Tibbs voice uttered that command. They quickly shook my hand, and the conversation was soon over.
I interviewed Poitier four times from 1991-98 when I was at the Los Angeles Times. They were more than just conversations about a certain project or event. We had two-hour plus chats revolving numerous subjects including education and racism. These encounters were life changing. In fact, after our...
I was having a breakfast interview in 1997 with Sidney Poitier at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel when two rather sleazy Hollywood types interrupted our conversation proffering their hands to the legendary actor. Poitier stood up and shook their hands while these two men began to blither on about the first Black actor to win a competitive Oscar for 1963’s “Lilies of the Field” and was the top box office draw in 1968. Finally, Poitier stopped them, pointed to me and in his best Virgil Tibbs voice uttered that command. They quickly shook my hand, and the conversation was soon over.
I interviewed Poitier four times from 1991-98 when I was at the Los Angeles Times. They were more than just conversations about a certain project or event. We had two-hour plus chats revolving numerous subjects including education and racism. These encounters were life changing. In fact, after our...
- 9/28/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
A pioneering movie star intensely aware of his place in film history, Sidney Poitier published no fewer than three autobiographies during his life, generously sharing what he’d lived and learned with those who’d appreciated his work in films such as “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” But words can only reach so far in an era dominated by the moving image, and as such, we’re fortunate that Poitier was open to repeating himself one last time for “Sidney” — director Reginald Hudlin’s definitive portrait for Apple TV+ — before his death this year at the age of 94.
Few movie stars have been more inspirational than Poitier, who was more than just a star, but also a symbol to so many — be they aspiring Black performers or the public at large, who saw their own views on civil rights embodied in the characters he played.
Few movie stars have been more inspirational than Poitier, who was more than just a star, but also a symbol to so many — be they aspiring Black performers or the public at large, who saw their own views on civil rights embodied in the characters he played.
- 9/23/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Walter Mirisch earned his Oscar for this Sidney Poitier hit directed by Norman Jewison. The tense mystery thriller was also a significant cultural step for Civil Rights, Hollywood-style: Poitier’s Virgil Tibbs claims the right to not turn the other cheek. Stars Rod Steiger, Lee Grant, Warren Oates and Larry Gates are in top form. Kino’s new 4K release maximizes the impact of Haskell Wexler’s steamy cinematography and Quincy Jones’ rich music, and includes bonus Blu-ray encodings of the two sequels made a few years later.
In the Heat of the Night 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1967 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date April 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, William Schallert, Beah Richards, Peter Whitney, Matt Clark, Scott Wilson, Timothy Scott, Quentin Dean, Anthony James, Alan Oppenheimer.
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler
Art Director: Paul Groesse...
In the Heat of the Night 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1967 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date April 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, William Schallert, Beah Richards, Peter Whitney, Matt Clark, Scott Wilson, Timothy Scott, Quentin Dean, Anthony James, Alan Oppenheimer.
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler
Art Director: Paul Groesse...
- 7/2/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sidney Poitier was an electrifying presence on-screen. In life, he used his charisma and his renown as forces for change.
The actor best known for history-making roles in such films as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Lilies of the Field” made immense contributions to the civil rights movement. Dr. Russell Wigginton, president of the Memphis-based National Civil Rights Museum, points to Poitier’s staunch support of Martin Luther King Jr. and the actor’s participation in the 1966 March Against Fear through one of Mississippi’s most deeply segregated regions.
Poitier, who died Jan. 6 at the age of 94, worked his way up an overwhelmingly white industry by playing against type. He famously refused to take on stereotypical roles for a Black male actor. With his talent and his tenacity, Poitier built bridges and opened doors for so many. At the same time, he was dedicated to civil rights.
The actor best known for history-making roles in such films as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Lilies of the Field” made immense contributions to the civil rights movement. Dr. Russell Wigginton, president of the Memphis-based National Civil Rights Museum, points to Poitier’s staunch support of Martin Luther King Jr. and the actor’s participation in the 1966 March Against Fear through one of Mississippi’s most deeply segregated regions.
Poitier, who died Jan. 6 at the age of 94, worked his way up an overwhelmingly white industry by playing against type. He famously refused to take on stereotypical roles for a Black male actor. With his talent and his tenacity, Poitier built bridges and opened doors for so many. At the same time, he was dedicated to civil rights.
- 1/12/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
I grew up idolizing Sidney Poitier.
I was around 9 when he flickered into my world on a television replay of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” I was a latchkey kid in Cleveland, daughter of a white, single mother and a Black father — whose union their parents had frowned upon. In the film, Sidney and his co-star, Katharine Houghton, play an interracial couple whose parents also struggle with their children’s relationship. There I sat in front of my mom’s old console, mesmerized, as I watched my family’s dynamic play out. For the first time in my childhood, I felt seen. Understood. Validated. The world already knew Sidney, who died last week at 94, as a formidable performer. But I first experienced him as a mirror.
I watched that film over and over again, through my middle-school years and beyond. By then, my mother had moved our family from a...
I was around 9 when he flickered into my world on a television replay of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” I was a latchkey kid in Cleveland, daughter of a white, single mother and a Black father — whose union their parents had frowned upon. In the film, Sidney and his co-star, Katharine Houghton, play an interracial couple whose parents also struggle with their children’s relationship. There I sat in front of my mom’s old console, mesmerized, as I watched my family’s dynamic play out. For the first time in my childhood, I felt seen. Understood. Validated. The world already knew Sidney, who died last week at 94, as a formidable performer. But I first experienced him as a mirror.
I watched that film over and over again, through my middle-school years and beyond. By then, my mother had moved our family from a...
- 1/12/2022
- by Halle Berry
- Variety Film + TV
SAG-AFTRA mourns the loss of SAG Life Achievement Award recipient Sidney Poitier, who died last week at the age of 94.
Poitier was a trailblazing performer whose most recognizable roles included Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night and John Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. In 1963 he became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field.
“Sidney Poitier was a brilliant and dignified actor who broke the ceiling for many actors of color that followed in his footsteps,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Blessed by a long life, he remains a most respected, admired, accomplished actor by his industry peers.”
“My parents met him at an event I took them to where Sidney was being honored,” Drescher continued. “My mom grabbed him, hugged him and told him what a big fan she was, how much she loved him...
Poitier was a trailblazing performer whose most recognizable roles included Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night and John Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. In 1963 he became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field.
“Sidney Poitier was a brilliant and dignified actor who broke the ceiling for many actors of color that followed in his footsteps,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Blessed by a long life, he remains a most respected, admired, accomplished actor by his industry peers.”
“My parents met him at an event I took them to where Sidney was being honored,” Drescher continued. “My mom grabbed him, hugged him and told him what a big fan she was, how much she loved him...
- 1/11/2022
- Look to the Stars
Chicago – With the passing of actor Sidney Poitier at the age of 94 on January 6th, 2022, another lion of the cinema – who represented succinctly an era of the movies – has left the mortal coil. HollywoodChicago.com presents the following appreciation through three film essays in retrospect by Patrick McDonald, Spike Walters and Jon Lennon Espino.
Although Poitier represented American blacks in his early career, often cast as the dignified presence among the bigotry floating around him, his early life was in the Bahamas. He moved to Miami at age 15 (he was born in Miami while his Bahamian parents sold produce there) and after serving in the Army during World War II, he joined the American Negro Theater in New York City.
Poster Art: ‘Lilies of the Field’ (1963), Featuring Oscar Best Actor Sidney Poitier
Photo credit: HBO Max (VOD)
After working in theater, he made his major film debut in 1950 with the incendiary “No Way Out.
Although Poitier represented American blacks in his early career, often cast as the dignified presence among the bigotry floating around him, his early life was in the Bahamas. He moved to Miami at age 15 (he was born in Miami while his Bahamian parents sold produce there) and after serving in the Army during World War II, he joined the American Negro Theater in New York City.
Poster Art: ‘Lilies of the Field’ (1963), Featuring Oscar Best Actor Sidney Poitier
Photo credit: HBO Max (VOD)
After working in theater, he made his major film debut in 1950 with the incendiary “No Way Out.
- 1/10/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This commentary on the life and legacy of Sidney Poitier was first published in the 2006 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards, as part of the organization’s lifetime achievement award tribute to the trailblazing star, who died Jan. 6 at the age of 94.
Is Sidney Poitier the most important actor in American history?
One could quickly defend that question affirmatively simply with a newsreel of clips showing heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., from Birmingham to the March on Washington, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks; Olympians Tommy Smith and John Carlos with their fists in the 1968 Mexico City air; rabid segregationists Bull Connor, Lester Maddox and George Wallace; the sit-ins and the accompanying firehoses and attacking police dogs; the segregated public spaces, the high-profile Ku Klux Klan marches and their low-profile lynchings.
To any American film fan who lived through the Civil Rights revolution of the 1950s and ’60s,...
Is Sidney Poitier the most important actor in American history?
One could quickly defend that question affirmatively simply with a newsreel of clips showing heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., from Birmingham to the March on Washington, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks; Olympians Tommy Smith and John Carlos with their fists in the 1968 Mexico City air; rabid segregationists Bull Connor, Lester Maddox and George Wallace; the sit-ins and the accompanying firehoses and attacking police dogs; the segregated public spaces, the high-profile Ku Klux Klan marches and their low-profile lynchings.
To any American film fan who lived through the Civil Rights revolution of the 1950s and ’60s,...
- 1/9/2022
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Over the holidays, TCM showed one of my favorite movies of all time, 1967’s “To Sir With Love. “ It stars Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray from British Guyana who takes a job as a teacher in the East End of London filled rowdy Cockney students who have little interest in their curriculum. Sir, as his class calls him, realizes that what these teens need is a course in how to make a life for themselves in the world outside a classroom.
Eventually, his pupils realize that he has their best interests at heart and they celebrate at a dance before his flock flies off into real world . Seeing a sexy and sweaty Poitier cut a rug by doing the Pony and the Jerk with Judy Geeson’s flirtatious student was just like receiving an extra surprise gift under my tree.
Little did I know that this silver screen legend, who...
Eventually, his pupils realize that he has their best interests at heart and they celebrate at a dance before his flock flies off into real world . Seeing a sexy and sweaty Poitier cut a rug by doing the Pony and the Jerk with Judy Geeson’s flirtatious student was just like receiving an extra surprise gift under my tree.
Little did I know that this silver screen legend, who...
- 1/8/2022
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Every artist hopes to make the world a better place. Sidney Poitier actually did.
It was partly timing. When the actor, who died Friday, made his film debut in 1950’s “No Way Out,” Hollywood was ready to tackle the issue of racial equality. After centuries of bigotry, 20th century mass media like radio and newsreels alerted the public to cases of blatant prejudice like the 1931 Scottsboro trial. Consciousness was slowly being raised by negative examples as well as positive ones, such as the contributions of Black people during World War II.
So Hollywood cautiously opened the gates. There were other Black actors in lead film roles, including James Edwards and Harry Belafonte, but they were rare. It was Poitier who captured the public imagination, with his soft but powerful voice, his precise way of speaking and, crucially, his integrity.
Poitier was given opportunities in Hollywood; more important is what he did with them.
It was partly timing. When the actor, who died Friday, made his film debut in 1950’s “No Way Out,” Hollywood was ready to tackle the issue of racial equality. After centuries of bigotry, 20th century mass media like radio and newsreels alerted the public to cases of blatant prejudice like the 1931 Scottsboro trial. Consciousness was slowly being raised by negative examples as well as positive ones, such as the contributions of Black people during World War II.
So Hollywood cautiously opened the gates. There were other Black actors in lead film roles, including James Edwards and Harry Belafonte, but they were rare. It was Poitier who captured the public imagination, with his soft but powerful voice, his precise way of speaking and, crucially, his integrity.
Poitier was given opportunities in Hollywood; more important is what he did with them.
- 1/7/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Hollywood and the nation are mourning a Hollywood pioneer today. Click on the photo above to launch a photo gallery on the career of Oscar winner Sidney Poitier, who has died at 94.
His 60-year résumé is filled with groundbreaking roles in singular movies. He played the Philadelphia homicide detective Virgil Tibbs investigating a murder in a Deep South town (In the Heat of the Night and its sequel), the doctor who gets engaged to a white woman and deals with uncertainly from both sets of parents and a convict chained to a white fellow escapee (Tony Curtis) in The Defiant Ones.
Poitier was the first Black person to win an lead-acting Oscar (Lilies of the Field), the first whose character shared an onscreen interracial kiss in a major movie and the first whose character physically struck a white co-star onscreen.
His 60-year résumé is filled with groundbreaking roles in singular movies. He played the Philadelphia homicide detective Virgil Tibbs investigating a murder in a Deep South town (In the Heat of the Night and its sequel), the doctor who gets engaged to a white woman and deals with uncertainly from both sets of parents and a convict chained to a white fellow escapee (Tony Curtis) in The Defiant Ones.
Poitier was the first Black person to win an lead-acting Oscar (Lilies of the Field), the first whose character shared an onscreen interracial kiss in a major movie and the first whose character physically struck a white co-star onscreen.
- 1/7/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Sidney Poitier, whose dignity and self-assertion ushered in a new era in the depiction of African-Americans in Hollywood films as the civil rights movement was remaking America, has died, a spokesperson for the Bahamian Prime Minister confirmed to Variety. He was 94. Poitier was the oldest living winner of the best actor Oscar — just one distinction in a career full of distinctions.
“Our whole Bahamas grieves and extends our deepest condolences to his family. But even as we mourn, we celebrate the life of a great Bahamian, a cultural icon, an actor and film director, an entrepreneur, civil and human rights activist and, latterly, a diplomat,” said Phillip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas in a statement. “We admire the man not just because of his colossal achievements, but also because of who he was. His strength of character, his willingness to stand up and be counted, and the way he...
“Our whole Bahamas grieves and extends our deepest condolences to his family. But even as we mourn, we celebrate the life of a great Bahamian, a cultural icon, an actor and film director, an entrepreneur, civil and human rights activist and, latterly, a diplomat,” said Phillip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas in a statement. “We admire the man not just because of his colossal achievements, but also because of who he was. His strength of character, his willingness to stand up and be counted, and the way he...
- 1/7/2022
- by Rick Schultz
- Variety Film + TV
Sidney Poitier, the trailblazing and iconic Black actor, director, civil rights activist and humanitarian, has died, the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced Friday.
Details of his death were not immediately available.
The first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — for 1964’s Lilies of the Field — Poitier was towering figure in Hollywood and beyond, starring in such classics as A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love, to name a select few, while taking on a global profile for his unceasing calls for civil rights, racial equality and human dignity.
Offscreen, Poitier’s work and support for civil rights in the 1960s put him at the forefront of the movement and made him one of its most prominent public faces. He attended, along with his lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, the 1963 March on Washington,...
Details of his death were not immediately available.
The first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — for 1964’s Lilies of the Field — Poitier was towering figure in Hollywood and beyond, starring in such classics as A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love, to name a select few, while taking on a global profile for his unceasing calls for civil rights, racial equality and human dignity.
Offscreen, Poitier’s work and support for civil rights in the 1960s put him at the forefront of the movement and made him one of its most prominent public faces. He attended, along with his lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, the 1963 March on Washington,...
- 1/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Sidney Poitier — who turns 94 on Feb. 20 — has received virtually every showbiz award possible: An Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, plus Life Achievement Awards from AFI, BAFTA, NAACP Image Awards, SAG and Kennedy Center Honors, to name a few. Though the kudos have been plentiful, they aren’t enough to convey the depth of his lasting impact on the entertainment industry, starting with being the first Black winner of best actor Oscar for the 1963 film “Lilies of the Field.”
The film industry’s lack of diversity is still an issue in the 21st century. But diversity was nearly non-existent when Poitier made his film debut in the 1950 “No Way Out.” There had been other Black actors in lead film roles, including James Edwards and Harry Belafonte, but they were extremely rare. And Poitier captured the public imagination like no one before him, with his soft but powerful voice and, crucially, his integrity.
The film industry’s lack of diversity is still an issue in the 21st century. But diversity was nearly non-existent when Poitier made his film debut in the 1950 “No Way Out.” There had been other Black actors in lead film roles, including James Edwards and Harry Belafonte, but they were extremely rare. And Poitier captured the public imagination like no one before him, with his soft but powerful voice and, crucially, his integrity.
- 2/20/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Fifty years ago, the 40th Academy Awards proved to be a watershed moment. The five Best Picture nominees — and eventual winner — all echoed the changing, turbulent times, not just in cinema but society, underscored by a tragedy that occurred the week before: Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
King’s April 4, 1968, assassination delayed the Oscars by two days, to April 10, and Gregory Peck, then-academy president, opened the show with remarks about the late civil rights activist and his impact.
“Society has always been reflected in its art and one measure of Dr. King’s influence on the society we live in is that of the five films nominated for Best Picture of the year, two dealt with subject of understanding between the races,” Peck said.
Those two films also both starred the No. 1 box office champ of the year, the first black Best Actor Oscar winner, Sidney Poitier (1963’s “Lilies of the Field...
King’s April 4, 1968, assassination delayed the Oscars by two days, to April 10, and Gregory Peck, then-academy president, opened the show with remarks about the late civil rights activist and his impact.
“Society has always been reflected in its art and one measure of Dr. King’s influence on the society we live in is that of the five films nominated for Best Picture of the year, two dealt with subject of understanding between the races,” Peck said.
Those two films also both starred the No. 1 box office champ of the year, the first black Best Actor Oscar winner, Sidney Poitier (1963’s “Lilies of the Field...
- 2/26/2018
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Racial issues in the south. Small town police department. Best Picture nominee at the Oscars. Lead performance frontrunner to win. These are certainly descriptions of 2018 Oscar contender “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” starring Frances McDormand but they also describe the film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture 50 years ago: “In the Heat of the Night” (watch the video above).
With “Get Out” and “Three Billboards” as big awards hits for 2017 and “Moonlight” as Best Picture the previous year, it looks as though films dealing with racism and civil rights have risen to a new level of recognition from the Academy. One of the first to be embraced by Oscar voters was the 1967 film “In the Heat of the Night,” a crime drama about an African-American detective (Sidney Poitier) and bigoted police chief (Rod Steiger) in rural Mississippi.
SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
Films...
With “Get Out” and “Three Billboards” as big awards hits for 2017 and “Moonlight” as Best Picture the previous year, it looks as though films dealing with racism and civil rights have risen to a new level of recognition from the Academy. One of the first to be embraced by Oscar voters was the 1967 film “In the Heat of the Night,” a crime drama about an African-American detective (Sidney Poitier) and bigoted police chief (Rod Steiger) in rural Mississippi.
SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
Films...
- 1/31/2018
- by Jack Fields
- Gold Derby
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