Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (born February 20, 1927) is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three well-received films-To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner-making him the top box office star of that year. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 22nd on the list of 25. Poitier has directed a number of popular movies such as A Piece of the Action; Uptown Saturday Night, and Let's Do It Again (with friend Bill Cosby), and Stir Crazy (starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). In 2002, 38 years after receiving the Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive an Honorary Award, designated ""To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being."" Since 1997 he has been the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. On August 12, 2009, Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama. This book is your ultimate resource for Sidney Poitier. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more. In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about his Early life, Career and Personal life right away: Sepia Cinderella, Red Ball Express (film), Blackboard Jungle, Good-bye, My Lady (film), Edge of the City, Something of Value, Band of Angels, The Mark of the Hawk, The Defiant Ones, Porgy and Bess (film), All the Young Men, A Raisin in the Sun (film), Paris Blues, Pressure Point (film), The Long Ships (film), Lilies of the Field (1963 film), The Bedford Incident, The Greatest Story Ever Told, A Patch of Blue, The Slender Thread, Duel at Diablo, To Sir, with Love, In the Heat of the Night (film), Virgil Tibbs, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, For Love of Ivy, The Lost Man, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!, Brother John, The Organization (film), Buck and the Preacher, A Warm December, Uptown Saturday Night, The Wilby Conspiracy, Let's Do It Again (1975 film), A Piece of the Action (film), Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist, Shoot to Kill (1988 film), Little Nikita, Sneakers (film), A Century of Cinema, The Jackal (1997 film) Contains selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped, combining the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the convenience of printed books. A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission.