Hollywood mourns loss of Sidney Poitier
A guiding light.
A landmark actor.
An absolute legend.
The best of the best.
There’s no shortage of praise and accolades pouring in Friday after the death of trailblazing actor Sidney Poitier at age 94.
Among those expressing condolences: Morgan Freeman, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Iger, Maria Shriver, Magic Johnson and Bernice King, daughter of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to name a few.
“Sidney was my inspiration, my guiding light, my friend,” Freeman wrote. “Sending love to Joanna and his family.”
“This is a big one. No words can describe how your work radically shifted my life. The dignity, normalcy, strength, excellence and sheer electricity you brought to your roles showed us that we, as Black folks, mattered!!! It was an honor...,” Davis wrote, posting a picture of herself and her husband with Poitier at a lunch at Spago.
“You told us, ‘If your dreams do not scare you, they’re not big enough’!” Davis continued. “I put this quote on my daughter’s wall. Rest well Mr. Poitier. Thank you! Thank you for leaving a legacy. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
“If you wanted the sky i would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high.. To Sir… with Love,” Goldberg tweeted, referencing the lyrics to the title song of Poitier’s 1967 film. “Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars.”
“Sidney Poitier was a unique man. An award-winning actor, a mentor, and someone who moved through life with elegance and class. I was honored to know him and his wife Joanna and to watch him move through his life,” former first lady of California Maria Shriver wrote, adding, “Sidney touched the lives of so many. My prayers are with his beautiful family at this private moment.
“Powerful beyond the stage and screen,”
King tweeted, posting a May 1968 photo of Poitier participating in the Poor People’s Campaign at “Resurrection City” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Many others noted his place as a leader in the fight for racial equality. Comic
W. Kamau Bell wrote, “He opened every door and blazed every trail for every Black entertainer who followed him. And he did it with grace. And he knew the battle wasn’t just about getting onscreen.”
“Immediately dispelling the perverted, obscene, and misinformed notion of white supremacy in every beautifully human, artistic and dignified way = Sidney Poitier,” Mark Ruffalo tweeted.
“The star of ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ and ‘Lilies of the Field,’ for which he won Best Actor, was a trailblazer who will be mourned by so many for whom he opened the very doors of Hollywood,” actor George Takei wrote.
Some actors mentioned the role he played in their professional development, with actor Paul Wesley noting that he had read Poitier’s autobiography years ago “and it was quite the inspiration.”
“Your work has inspired many young actors that it is possible to dream and that those dreams can come true. My self included,” actor Kirk Acevedo wrote. “The first monologue I ever did was from ‘A Raisin In The Sun’ to get into High School Of The Performing Arts. THANK YOU.”