Sidney Poitier, from growing up in poverty on a tomato plantation to being the first black star to win the Oscar for best actor

When Sidney Poitier won the best actor Oscar for

in 1963, he not only became the first black star to win the industry's most prestigious accolade, but he finally put a face on one of the worst-hit minorities in the world. The society that in the cinematographic field was fattened well with Hattie McDaniel, who was the first black woman in history to obtain this award for best supporting actress for her nostalgic portrayal of the maid Mammy in

( 1939). Despite that recognition, he was barred from the front door at the premiere of Selznick's classic and died destitute.

With Poitier, the industry tried to lick off wounds that are still unhealed. The star passed away on Three Kings Day at the age of 94. After growing up in poverty on a tomato plantation in the Bahamas, his parents sent him to New York at the age of 16 because they were afraid that he would end up becoming a criminal. He worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant and since he had no academic training, a Jewish waiter taught him to read and write.

In the late 1940s he was one of the members of the Harlem Black American Theater, with whom he made his Broadway debut in Lysistrata. A talent scout took him to Hollywood to sign with Fox. Twenty movies later, he became a star. Unforgettable were his interpretations of the classics

(1967) and

(1967). In 1950 he married

with whom throughout their fifteen years of marriage he had four daughters.

His innocent look and good manners covered one of the biggest scandals of his life because the actress

- in Spain she became very popular for playing Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty - had been his lover for nine years. Poitier promised him the moon, forced him to divorce her husband, he was also leaving his wife, bought a ten-room apartment and when push came to shove, the actor backed down. In her memoirs, The Legs Are the Last to Go,

by forcing her to sign a check to pay part of what would have been her love nest. In 1976 he remarried for the last time

, with whom he had two other daughters.

In addition to his role as an actor and director, Sidney Poitier was a man involved in different actions to help the weakest. He was ambassador of the Bahamas to UNESCO and Japan (1997-2007). Despite living between Hollywood and New York, he never forgot his origins and returned to Bermuda whenever he could. In 2019, sadness settled on his heart when Hurricane Dorian hit the island and 23 relatives of the interpreter disappeared. Queen

made him a member of the Order of the British Empire, but he never served as Sir Sidney, and

.

In 2001, he was awarded the honorary Oscar for his entire career on the same night that Denzel Washington (67) also won his second Oscar.

He is survived by his wife, six daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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