Sidney Poitier, first African American to win an Oscar for Best Actor, has died – Corriere.it

Died at the age of 94 Sidney Poitiers, an American actor of Bahamian descent, star of films such as “Guess who’s coming to dinner?” And “Inspector Tibbs’s warm night” as well The first African American to win an Oscar Best Actor (in 1964 with “I ligli nel campo”). true Hollywood legend With over 50 films to his credit, he was the oldest Academy Award winner since Kirk Douglas passed away in 2020, and he paved the way for many other black actors.

Born by chance in Miami in 1927 on a weekend when his parents were there (thereby automatically receiving American citizenship), he was Son of Bahamian merchants, where he stayed up to 10 years. In 1943 he joined in lying about age, and participated in World War II with psychopaths. Leaving the military, he worked as a dishwasher until auditioning allowed him to get a role in an American Black Theater production.

In his long career, Poitier has earned 10 Golden Globe nominations, two Academy Award nominations (including one and won one) and a host of other awards. In 2001 he was also awarded an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. It is considered One of the biggest stars in the history of cinema In parallel, he also had a diplomatic career as the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007.