On April 13, 1964, at the 36th annual Academy Awards ceremony, Sidney Poitier became the first African-american to win an Oscar for Best Actor. In the film Lilies of the Field, Poitier portrays an unemployed construction worker who is hired by a group of Eastern European nuns to help them build a chapel in the desert.
In 1967, Poitier was the top box office star of the year, due to the success of his films To Sir, With Love, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Born in Miami to parents from the Bahamas, Poitier has served as the Bahamian ambassador to Japan since 1997.
