Sidney Poitier was a groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how black people were portrayed on screen, becoming the first black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw. Theatre owners named Poitier the number one star of 1967, the first time a black actor topped the list. In 1967, The New York Times published black playwright Clifford Mason’s essay, Why Does White America Love Sidney Poitier So? Sidney Poitier in Beverly Hills, California, in 2008 (Matt Sayles/AP)The audience included a Broadway producer who cast him in an all-black version of Lysistrata. The only black actor before Poitier to win a competitive Oscar was Hattie McDaniel, the 1939 best supporting actress for Gone With The Wind.

Source: The Times January 07, 2022 17:23 UTC