Status: 07.01.2022 5:02 p.m.
He played in Hollywood classics like “Escape in Chains” and “In the Heat of the Night” – and he was the first black actor to receive an Oscar for best leading actor. Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier has now died at the age of 94.
The legendary Hollywood actor Sidney Poitier is dead. The first black actor in history to win an Oscar for best actor died yesterday at the age of 94 in the Bahamas, as the island state’s vice head of government, Chester Cooper, announced.
The role in the film “Escape in Chains” earned Poitier his first Oscar nomination.
Image: picture alliance / United Archives
Poitier’s family was from the Bahamas, but he was born in the United States. His Hollywood career began in the early 1950s. In 1958 he played with Tony Curtis in “Escape in Chains” – the role earned him his first Oscar nomination. Six years later he won the Academy Award for his leading role in “Lilien auf dem Felde” – as the first black actor ever.
From the 1970s onwards, Poitier also worked as a director. In 2002 he received the Oscar of Honor.