Sidney Poitier, Hollywood’s first major black movie star, has died, the deputy prime minister of the Bahamas said Friday.
Sidney Poitier, Hollywood’s first major black movie star, has died aged 94, the Bahamas government announced Friday. Poitier, who held dual US and Bahamian nationality, was « an icon, a hero, a mentor, a fighter, a national treasure, » Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said on his official Facebook page. The celebrated thespian became the first black star nominated for an Academy Award with 1958’s The Defiant Ones and, six years later, was the first to win the best actor Oscar for his performance in Lilies of the Field.
