He was the first Black person to win an Oscar. He was an actor for more than 60 years and showed other Black artists what they could do.
There were many nice things said about him when he died on January 6 at the age of 94. Obama, who was president from 2009 to 2011, said that Sidney was a very talented person who acted with honor and respect.
Even more famous star Denzel Washington said it was an honor to know Sidney. The person was nice and helped them all open doors that had been locked for a long time, according to him.
Sidney Poitier was in 55 movies and TV shows after his big break in the movie Blackboard Jungle in 1955. People know him for breaking down racial walls in Hollywood.
“Behind every successful man is a woman,” they say. I agree with that about Sidney Poitier. It was in 1976 that he married Canadian actress Joanna Shimkus. His first wife died when he was married, and he had four children while married.
It was his seventh child that Sidney Poitier was the youngest. Growing up, he lived on Cat Island in the Bahamas with his dad, who farmed. For business reasons, the family went to Miami. There Poitier was born three months early and out of the blue. That’s why he became a citizen of the United States.
Once Sidney Poitier moved to Nassau, the city of the Bahamas, he came to the United States when he was fifteen years old. Despite lying about his age, he fought in WWII when he was only a teenager.
Following his discharge, he worked as a cleaner. Then he had a chance to try out for the American Negro Theatre in New York City’s Harlem. This was his second attempt. On the first occasion, when he was 18, they told him he couldn’t act because of his accent.
She didn’t give up, though. To learn how to speak with different accents, he bought a radio and read newspapers and magazines. An old Jewish waiter helped him improve his reading and language.
Sidney Poitier went back to the production company for another tryout after a year and a half. He was accepted into the school this time, which was the start of his career. He won a lot of awards over the course of his work.
For the movie “Lilies of the Field,” he won his first Oscar, making him the first Black actor to do so. But he may have had his most important part in “The Lost Man,” which is where he met Joanna Shimkus, who would become his wife. Four years before this, in 1969, he got split from his first wife, Juanita Hardy.
That was also the year he broke up with actress Diahann Carroll after nine years of seeing her.
Sidney was married to Juanita Hardy from 1950 to 1965, a half-century. Still, he was married to Joanna Shimkus for a long time and had two girls with her.
JOA said in 1998, “We were meant to be together.”
She stopped acting from 1972 to 2010 so she could raise their children, Anika and Sidney. Both of their girls did what their parents did.
The movie Anika directed was called “Black Irish,” and Joanna was also one of the executive producers. At the same time, Sidney was in “Death Proof” by Quentin Tarantino and “Veronica Mars.”
In an interview with Closer, Sidney Poitier talked about how he and his wife made their marriage work. He said, “Over the years, my wife taught me how important it is to say ‘I love you’ every day.”
People magazine quoted Sidney as saying, “My wife and kids mean everything to me.” Something else that kept them together, according to Joanna Shimkus, was that she was a good cook. My job is to cook for him every night and treat him well.
Even though he had won an honorary Academy Award and awards from the Queen and the U.S. President, Sidney always knew that his family was the most important thing in the world.
His six daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, as well as his ex-wife and current wife, would often get together.
Throughout history, there are many cases of couples who had a hard time navigating an interracial relationship.
Joanna said it wasn’t a problem for her and her husband, though.
To make a documentary called “Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light,” Joanna Shimkus talked about her friendship with Sidney Poitier. According to her, “I never felt prejudiced in Canada like I do in America.” There haven’t been any issues with us, possibly since we live a calm life. I believed he was a great person, not a Black man.
Peace be with you, Sidney Poitier. Others will always remember how talented, kind, and strong you were when things got tough.