94-year-old Oscar-winning Bahamian-American actor, movie director, activist, and ambassador, Sidney L. Poirtier, has reportedly passed away.
The actor who is known for his roles in movies like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Heat of the Night and Lilies of the Field, passed on at his home in Los Angeles, California, USA on Thursday January 6, 2022.
Sydney Piortier was the first black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the movie Heat of the Night, and Lilies of the Field
Though accidentally born in Miami while his parents were visiting, the automatic U.S citizen grew up in the Bahamas but later moved to Miami at the age of 15 and to New York City when he was 16.
The Hollywood star landed his breakthrough film role in 1955 as a high school student in the movie Blackboard Jungle.
He then stared in The Defiant Ones, which received nine academy nominations, including his first nomination for Best actor in 1958.
The actor in 1963, eventually won an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field where he plays the role of a handyman.
From 1997 to 2007, he was the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan.
The news of his death was announced by the Bahamian minister of foreign affairs, Fred Mitchell.
