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His Life, Films & Contributions
One of the most enduring artists of our time, Sidney Poitier has embodied the aspirations and the contradictions of an era.Still the only black American to receive an Academy Award for "Best Actor", he forever altered the racial perceptions held by motion picture audiences and Hollywood executives.The proud and powerful charcters he portrayed, combined with electric and dynamic performances, were unlike anything ever seen before.In films such as Blackboard Jungle, A Raisin in the Sun, The Defiant Ones, Lilies of the Field and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Poitier gained critical acclaim and superstar status.American Masters presents an engaging look at the remarkable achievements of this accomplished actor, writer, director, critic, humanitarian and diplomat.Directed and narrated by Lee Grant, who co-starred with Poitier in the ground-breaking film In the Heat of the Night, the retrospective explores the life and career of Sidney Poitier through his body of work and through the words of his colleagues and admirers.Interviewees include James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, Norman Jewison and Quincy Jones.
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