{"id":8460,"date":"2022-02-22T23:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T05:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desmoinesfilm.org\/?p=8460"},"modified":"2022-02-22T23:44:38","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T05:44:38","slug":"remembering-sidney-poitier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desmoinesfilm.org\/remembering-sidney-poitier\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinton Olsasky: Remembering Sidney Poitier in Five Legendary Performances"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trailblazer. Icon. Legend.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Those are just some of the words that have been used to describe Sidney Poitier since his passing at the age of 94 last month.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But truth be told, words alone could never fully convey the sheer impact that Poitier had on the American film industry and, more importantly, on American culture at large.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Often starring in movies that either directly or indirectly addressed race relations in America, Poitier was the only regularly cast Black leading man in Hollywood during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As a result, Poitier took on the indispensable task of being not just an actor but an on-screen surrogate for the Civil Rights era and all it represented.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Poitier\u2019s peak in popularity as a Hollywood leading man coincided with the tail end of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1967, he starred in no fewer than three box-office hits, one of which (\u201cIn the Heat of the Night\u201d) won the Academy Award for Best Picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The subsequent half-century saw Poitier continue to act sporadically before moving into directing and, later, diplomacy, serving as an Ambassador of the Bahamas.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To say that Poitier lived a full and impactful life would be a major understatement. Even now, in the wake of his passing, Poitier\u2019s legacy can be strongly felt through the generations of actors he inspired and in the indelible performances he left behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What follows is just a small sample of that legacy: five Poitier performances that embody the actor\u2019s effortless grace, charm and dramatic power.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. \u201cLilies of the Field\u201d (1963)<\/h3>\n

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