Oprah Winfrey: Sidney Poitier was a mentor and wisdom teacher
Poitier was a trailblazing actor and a respected humanitarian and diplomat. He won the Academy Award for best actor for Lilies of the Field in 1963
Oprah Winfrey; globally-renowned media personality has described the late Hollywood Star Sidney Poitier as as a mentor and wisdom teacher.
Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win a best actor Oscar, died on Saturday at age 94.
Commenting on Facebook on his demise, Oprah said Poitier had an enormous soul.
“For me, the greatest of the “Great Trees” has fallen: Sidney Poitier. My honour to have loved him as a mentor. Friend. Brother. Confidant. Wisdom teacher,” she said.
“The utmost, highest regard and praise for his most magnificent, gracious, eloquent life. I treasured him. I adored him. He had an enormous soul I will forever cherish.”
She added “Blessings to Joanna and his world of beautiful daughters.”
Death
The Hollywood star’s death was confirmed to the BBC by the office of Fred Mitchell, the Bahamas’ minister of foreign affairs.
Poitier was a trailblazing actor and a respected humanitarian and diplomat. He won the Academy Award for best actor for Lilies of the Field in 1963.
Former US President Barack Obama said Poitier “epitomised dignity and grace” and had “singular talent”.
He added that the actor revealed “the power of movies to bring us closer together” and “opened doors for a generation of actors”.
US broadcaster and journalist Oprah Winfrey also paid tribute, saying: “For me the greatest of the ‘Great Trees’ has fallen,” adding the actor “had an enormous soul I will forever cherish”.
And the actor and Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington, said: “It was a privilege to call Sidney Poitier my friend. He was a gentle man and opened doors for all of us that had been closed for years. God bless him and his family.”
Born in Miami, Poitier grew up on a tomato farm in the Bahamas and moved to New York aged 16.
He signed up for a short stint in the army and did several odd jobs while taking acting lessons, en route to becoming a star of the stage and screen in the 1950s and 60s.
Fred Dzakpata
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