The late star, who passed away on January 7, won the Best Actor Oscar for 1963’s “Lilies of the Field.” He was the first Black actor to win the award.
Sidney Poitier, who passed away Thursday at the age of 94, made history in 1964 when he became the first Black man—and first Bahamian—to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lillies of the Field. Before Poitier’s win, Hattie McDaniel was the only Black person to win a competitive Oscar when she took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in 1939’s Gone with the Wind. Additionally, James Baskett received an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus in the Walt Disney production of Song of the South in 1948, which technically made him the first Black male to ever receive an Oscar. “Because it is a long journey to this moment I am naturally indebted to countless numbers of people, principally among whom are Ralph Nelson, James Poe, William Barr ett, Martin Baum, and of course the members of the Academy.
