Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Tributes paid to movie star Poitier
TRIBUTES have been paid to Hollywood star Sidney Poitier after his death at the age of 94.
The Bahamian-American actor was known for films including In The Heat Of The Night, Blackboard Jungle and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner – and was the first black man to win the Oscar for best actor.
Jeffrey Wright, Whoopi Goldberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were among those paying tribute.
Bond star Wright said on Twitter: “Sidney Poitier. What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love.”
Goldberg quoted the lyrics to the song To Sir With Love, which soundtracked Poitier’s 1967 film.
She said on Twitter: “If you wanted the sky i would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high.. To Sir... with Love. Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars.”
Gordon-Levitt described him as an “An absolute legend. One of the greats”.
Bob Iger, former chairman of the Walt Disney Company, also paid tribute.
He tweeted: “Former @disney board member Sidney Poitier was the most dignified man I’ve ever met. Towering... gentle... passionate... bold... kind... altogether special.”
Star Trek actor George Takei said
Poitier was a “trailblazer who will be mourned by so many for whom he opened the very doors of Hollywood”.
The British Film Institute added: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sidney Poitier, the legendary actor, director and diplomat who led a life of remarkable achievements, both on screen and off.”
His breakthrough came in Blackboard Jungle in 1955, playing a rebellious but musically talented pupil in an inner-city school.
Three years later, he was nominated for an Oscar and won a Bafta for his performance in The Defiant Ones
In 1963, he was awarded an Oscar for Lilies Of The Field.