Sidney poitier actor biography sample
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Show: FRESH AIR
Date: APRIL 18, 2000
Time: 12:00
Tran: 041801np.217
Type: FEATURE
Head: Sidney Poitier Discusses `The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography'
Sect: Entertainment
Time: 12:06
This is a rush transcript. This copy may not
be in its sista form and may be updated.
TERRY GROSS, HOST: From WHYY in Philadelphia, I'm Terry Gross with FRESH AIR.
On today's FRESH AIR, Sidney Poitier. He grew up poor on a small island in the Bahamas and went on to become the most famous African-American actor of his generation. Some of his best-known films, including "The Defiant Ones," "In the Heat of the Night," "Lilies of the Field," and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," address the racial issues of the times. He has a new memoir.
And Maureen Corrigan reviews "Ravelstein," the controversial new novel by Saul Bellow.
That's all coming up on FRESH AIR.
First, the news.
(BREAK)
GROSS: This is FRE
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Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier (1927 – 2022)
Biography and Movie Career:
Sidney L. Poitier was born on February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, during a visit his Bahamian parents made to the United States. His father, Reginald James Poitier, was a tomato farmer, and his mother, Evelyn (née Outten), was a homemaker. Poitier was born two months prematurely, and his parents did not expect him to survive. His early arrival into the world was marked by hardship and uncertainty, which foreshadowed the resilience and determination that would define his life.
Though born in the United States, Poitier spent his early years on Cat Island, a small and isolated part of the Bahamas. He grew up in a rural, close-knit community with limited access to modern amenities. His early childhood was shaped by simplicity and the natural surroundings of island life. At age 10, his family moved to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, seeking better opportunities. It was there that Poitier fi
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Sidney Poitier
Bahamian-American actor, filmmaker, diplomat (1927–2022)
For his daughter, the actress, see Sydney Tamiia Poitier.
Sidney Poitier (PWAH-tyay;[1] February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.[2] He received two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. In 1999, he was ranked among the "American Film Institute's 100 Stars".[3][4] Poitier was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.[5][6][7]
Poitier's family lived in the Bahamas, then still a Crown colony, but he was born in Miami, Florida, while they were visiting, which automatically granted him U.S. citizenship. He grew up in the Bahamas, but moved to Miami at ag