by L K. J

Created on: March 06, 2008   Last Updated: February 03, 2012

Writer Vincent Canby of The New York Times once said, "Poitier does not make movies, he makes milestones."

It has been said that Sidney Poitier was to Hollywood what Jackie Robinson was to major league baseball: the man who broke the color barrier. The Bahamian-American actor, director, producer and author was born on February 20, 1927 on a boat somewhere between Miami and the British West Indies; a seemingly enigmatic sign of his bridge-building destiny in a racially unstable era.

The seventh and youngest child of poor tomato farmers on Cat Island in the Bahamas, life was no cake walk for the young Poitier who was holding a full time job by age 13 to help support the family. After a rush of youthful delinquencies, his parents sent him off to live with an older brother in Miami with hopes of a better future for him.

At 16, he served a short stint in the army as a World War II medic and upon his return moved to New York city. Taking up an interest in theater, he had an early rude awakening to the harsh realities of the entertainment industry when producers at the American Negro Theater rejected his audition because of his heavy Bahamian accent. In true Poitier style, he stubbornly embarked on a 6 month training regime to improve his diction and elocution and was accepted into the theater company on his second try.

His debut performance was in Days of our Youth and he went on to perform in 10 more productions with this company. His first film role was in " No way out"in 1950 . His illustrious career would continue to be marked by memorable films and stage productions including: Cry the Beloved Country (1952); Blackboard Jungle (1955); A Raisin in the Sun (1961); The Bedford Incident (1965); A Patch of Blue (1965); The Slender Thread (1965); To Sir, With Love (1967); and In the Heat of the Night (1967).

Though cast mainly in supporting roles in his earlier days, Poitier became the first black actor to win an Oscar when he received a Best actor award for his role in "Lilies of the Field" in 1963. Dignified and unassuming, Poitier performed strongly in roles that would challenge racial stereotyping by portraying strong, noble and intellectual characters. He also took his turn behind the camera and produced and directed several top grossing movies starring his good friends Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor and Harry Belafonte.

According to the Kennedy center Sidney Poitier's career has been full of landmark " firsts" that have had a lasting effect on American culture: "..

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