Sidney Poitier Is an Artist Term Paper

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This play, the first by a black playwright to show on Broadway, was a moving reflection of black family life that had great popular appeal (Sidney pp). Poitier's performance was such a critical success that he was asked to star in the movie adaptation in 1961 (Sidney pp). In 1963, his performance in "Lilies of the Field" won him the Academy Award for Best Actor, the first black man to ever win the Oscar (Sidney pp). This success was followed by an electrifying performance in Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" (Sidney pp). Then, Poitier took on one of the greatest taboos of the time, interracial romantic relationships, in "Patch of Blue," and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," thus, by the end of the 1960's. Poitier was one of Hollywood's most popular stars (Sidney pp).

Poitier went on to direct "Buck and the Preacher," "Uptown Saturday Night," "Let's Do it Again," and the classic comedy "Stir Crazy" (Sidney pp). He returned to acting in 1988 to star in "Shoot to Kill" and in 1997, portrayed Nelson Mandela in the docudrama, "Mandela and De Klerk" (Sidney pp). For more than fifty years in the business and fifty-five roles to his credit, Poitier's strength and commitment continues to shine throughout his work (Sidney pp).

When Evelyn Poitier visited a clairvoyant to ask about the fate of her premature son, little did she know that the reader's prophecy was true, "that this infant would in fact rise to world fame" (Frick pp).

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Starring in over forty films, directing nine and writing four, only scratches the surface of Poitier's many accomplishments that have paved the way for other black stars (Frick pp).

As Charles Dumas points out, Poitier "pushed the envelope whenever he could to expand the world for black actors" (Frick pp). He has appeared before congressional committees investigating discrimination in filmmaking and has refused to work on films that do not employ increased numbers of black talent (Frick pp). Poitier has continued to demonstrate a high level of integrity since he entered both the country and the film industry (Frick pp).

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