Sidney Poitier, the Academy Award-winning actor who experienced in life many of the racial injustices explored in his films, has died. He was 94.
He died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reported, citing Latrae Rahming, the director of communications for the prime minister of the Bahamas, where Poitier was raised.
he 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.
Poitier achieved mainstream popularity with a series of groundbreaking roles at a time of great racial tension in America in the 1950s and 1960s.
