#firstoscar

#Repost @wsacasting with @repostapp. ・・・ Sidney Poitier was born on February 20, 1927 in Miami, Florida. He was born premature and so as soon as he was well, they left back to the Bahamas. He got into a lot of trouble as a child and so his father sent him to the U.S. to straighten up and live with his brother in Miami. At 16, Poitier headed to New York to pursue his acting career. He made a deal with the American Negro Theatre in NYC to get acting lessons if he worked as a janitor for them. Eventually, he made his way to act on the stage and filled in for Harry Belafonte in their production of Days of Our Youth. In 1946, he appeared in a Broadway production of Lysistrata and because of his success in that role, it got him a role in the play, Anna Lucasta. From then on he toured the country performing in the all-black production. In 1950, he made his Hollywood debut in No Way Out. Next he appeared in Cry, The Beloved Country! He was cast in supporting roles until his big break with the film Blackboard Jungle where he was a student at an inner-city school. Soon after he was the leading man in the musical Porgy and Bess with Dorothy Dandridge. In 1961 he was the lead in the film adaption of the play A Raisin in the Sun! In 1964 he won an Academy Award (best actor) for Lilies of the Field making him the first African American actor to receive an Oscar for Best Actor. Poitier helped break barriers for colored people in film. He has 6 children and is currently married to Joanna Shimkus. After acting, he published his own autobiography, has done spoken word and won a Grammy for it, got knighted, and served as a non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. #NOTICE #CHANGE #SUPPORT #TEAMWSAAPPROVED #WSACASTING #WSA #SIDNEYPOTIER #BLACKACTORS #FIRSTOSCAR #PAVEDAWAY #WSAINTERNATIONAL