Sidney Poitier Tributeby Wilson Morales
May 3, 2011
Last night Blackfilm.com attended New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center‘s tribute to Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier.
The 84 year-old Florida native was given the 38th annual Chaplin Award, and is the first African American to be honored with the award.
The event was held at Alice Tully Hall, where a host of presenters, including Ben Kingsley, Bill Cosby, Chris Tucker, Dan Aykroyd, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Mary Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, Norman Jewison, Quincy Jones, Quentin Tarantino, Ruby Dee, and daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier gave heartfelt speeches about the man they’ve worked with and admired over the years.
Lulu performed ‘To Sir, with Love,’ which had reached number one on the U.S. pop charts, and was Billboard magazine’s #1 pop single in 1967.
Oprah Winfrey sent in taped message.
Among the notables in attendance were Tony Bennett, Sanaa Lathan, Lynn Nottage, Lynn Whitfield, Geoffrey Fletcher, Malcolm Lee, Warrington Hudlin, producer Debra Martin Chase, Joan Collins, producer Lisa Cortes, Regis and Joy Philbin, Jim Belushi, and director James Toback.
Poitier’s five decade-career has spanned theater, film, and television, making his big screen debut in 1950 with “No Way Out.” Poitier’s films in the ‘50s, notably “Cry, The Beloved Country,” (1952), “Blackboard Jungle,” (1955) and “The Defiant Ones” (1958), for which Poitier was nominated for an Academy Award, were frequently controversial for the time and often addressed issues of racial equality both home and abroad.
In 1961 Poitier would reprise a role he played on the Broadway stage for the Hollywood adaptation of “A Raisin in the Sun.” In 1963, Poitier’s performance in “Lillies of the Field,” earned him the Oscar for Best Actor, the first time a black man had been so honored.
As noted by many, in 1967 Poitier was the top draw at the box office with unforgettable roles in ‘To Sir, with Love,’ ‘In the Heat of the Night,’ and ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.’
