Sidney Poitier’s legacy will always remain in Hollywood, with a career spanning over five decades, he is a big-screen legend.
Poitier died on the 6th of January at the age of 94. His achievements and screen presence will always remind us of his excellence and dedication to his craft.
With film awards and honours from the United States to Britain and a Grammy Award for best-spoken word album, the honour of being the first black actor to win an Academy Award will always make him stand shoulders above the rest.
His award of Best Actor in the 1963 Academy Awards paved a way for many other black actors in America, including 2002 Best Actor winner, Denzel Washington.
When Washington presented him with a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Oscars, he said of Poitier “Before Sidney, African American actors had to take supporting roles in major studio films that were easy to cut out in certain parts of the country. But you couldn’t cut Sidney Poitier out of a Sidney Poitier picture”.
On top of his numerous acting accolades, he was also honoured – amongst others – by former US President Barack Obama with the presidential medal of freedom.
Below is an infographic highlighting some of his top film awards:
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