SIDNEY POITIER Happy birthday to Sidney Poitier, as he turns 93 today, February 20. Sidney Poitier is a Bahamian-American actor, director, author, and diplomat. He started the grinding journey of his life by serving in the U.S. military between 1943 and 1944 during World War II. His acting career started in 1946, when he joined the American Negro Theater. Poitier peak his movie career unto directing, where he directed the first popular dance battle movie “Fast Forward”, in 1985.
With his huge exuberance in acting, Poitier was a recipient for several Awards and Honors. Some of them are; British Academy Film Award for Actor in Leading Role for The Defiant Ones (1958); Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Lilies of the Field (1963); Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lilies of the Field (1964); Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1974); AFI Life Achievement Award (1992); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). Poitier was the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor ( Lilies of the Field, 1963), and he is at the same time the oldest living man to have won the prestigious award. The nonagenarian served as a member of the board of directors of the “The Walt Disney Company” between 1995 and 2003. In April 1997, Poitier was appointed as the Ambassador of The Bahamas to Japan, a position he held till 2007. From 2002 to 2007, he was concurrently the Ambassador of The Bahamas to UNESCO
