Sidney Poitier at Cinematek: (re)discover the African-American acting pioneer

There is no need to commend Sidney Poitier. Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Whoopi Goldberg, Mariah Carey, Viola Davis already did when the American acting giant died in January. Cinematek is now dusting off his films.

Icon, lighthouse, legend, the greatest American actor: there was no shortage of praise when Sidney Poitier died in January at the blessed age of 94. His pioneering role cannot be in question, he will forever remain the first black American to win the Oscar for best actor. He worked with the most progressive directors and producers on films that addressed racism and discrimination. One sophisticated character followed another with great finesse and the deceptive ease of the greats. He stuck to his principles and was a great example. Whether that made Sidney Poitier the greatest American actor is another question.

Poitier exchanged the Bahamas for Miami at the age of 15 and then moved to New York, where he joined the American Negro Theatre. He began his historic rise in film in 1949. The big break­through came in 1955 with Blackboard Jungle, a hard-hitting analysis of American education with rock 'n' roll music.

He deliberately chose to play role-models and had enough guts to turn his nose up at overacting. In The Defiant Ones (1958), he and the white Tony Curtis play two prisoners linked by chains who must work together to complete their escape. In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are not sure whether they should let their daughter marry his character. John is the ideal son-in-law and a great doctor but does not have the right skin colour.

Poitier's career peaked in the 1960s with a starring role in In the Heat of the Night (1967). His Virgil Tibbs must work with a white police chief to solve a murder in a racist Mississippi town. Poitier reprised the beloved character in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970). After the 1970s, he mostly produced and directed mediocre comedies with Bill Cosby or Richard Pryor.

SIDNEY POITIER
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